


How to Save a Life

by ReginaNocis



Series: How to Save a Life [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - No Hale Fire (Teen Wolf), Everyone Is Alive, Hale Family Feels, Magical Stiles Stilinski, Multi, Time Travel Fix-It
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:05:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 23
Words: 50,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24463924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReginaNocis/pseuds/ReginaNocis
Summary: After being abandoned by his pack, Stiles embarks on a quest to save the lives of the one family in Beacon Hills that could fix everything.~If Stiles ever made it back to his own time, he would never be telling Derek what he’d done. Of course, if all the pieces fell into place, he’d never have to speak of it again. As it was, he shouldn’t have even been able to perform the ritual. It was a good thing that Stiles lived to exceed expectations- especially magical ones.
Relationships: Allison Argent/Scott McCall, Cora Hale/Isaac Lahey, Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Lydia Martin/Jackson Whittemore, Vernon Boyd/Erica Reyes
Series: How to Save a Life [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2133369
Comments: 202
Kudos: 1064
Collections: Teen wolf





	1. Chapter One

_If Stiles ever made it back to his own time, he would never be telling Derek what he’d done. Of course, if all the pieces fell into place, he’d never have to speak of it again. As it was, he shouldn’t have even been able to perform the ritual. It was a good thing that Stiles lived to exceed expectations- especially magical ones._

“Only someone pure of heart who has good intentions can complete this ritual,” Deaton had warned him. They both ignored Peter Hale’s snickering in the background. (Deaton was the only one who was willing to harbor Peter. Everyone else distrusted him too badly.)

“That can’t be me,” Stiles had sighed. Ever since the Nogitsune, Stiles could _feel_ the darkness inside of him.

“What do you have to lose?” Peter had asked.

And that was the root of the problem. When Stiles had started training with Deaton to control his spark, Scott had turned his back on him. They hadn’t spoken in _months_. And with Scott had gone the rest of the pack. It stung, because he’d thought that they were all genuinely friends. As it turned out, they all had reasons to leave him behind.

Kira took great pleasure in telling him that she only put up with him for Scott’s sake. She claimed that he’d put all of them in danger too many times. She would never forgive him for becoming the Nogitsune.

Malia was still angry about being dumped. Stiles had thought it had been a mutual separation, but it turned out she was genuinely angry. She’d told Kira that she felt hurt and used.

It was Lydia’s rejection that hurt the most, though it wasn’t because he was in love with her. That ship had sailed long ago. She was jealous of his spark. She’d always thought that they were evenly matched in knowledge, and she enjoyed having an ability when he didn’t. Now that he _did_ have one, she wanted nothing to do with him.

The only ones who had stuck by him were the Hales. Peter started showing up at his training sessions, often volunteering to assist when Stiles needed someone to practice on. He usually stayed quiet in the background unless he was needed, offering silent support. Stiles was surprised to find that he appreciated it.

Derek often lurked outside of Stiles’ house during the night. He never came inside, and he’d barely speak when Stiles would go out to greet him or keep him company. It took Stiles two weeks to realize that Derek was guarding him, and by then, it was too awkward to bring it up.

(“He left Scott’s pack when you were kicked out,” Peter had explained one day. “He’s claimed us as his pack, and now he’s going to be more protective of you until he knows you’re okay.”)

Knowing that Derek cared enough to follow him out of a (semi) stable pack, he went to Deaton that same day and requested to learn protective magic. He’d be damned if he didn’t find a way to make sure that Derek and Peter were just as safe as they were keeping him. Deaton had only smiled in that mysterious way he was so fond of, letting Stiles know that he was just as predictable as usual.

“I wondered how long it would be before you’d want to learn this. I have just the thing,” Deaton had told him.

Stiles spent a solid month learning about protective runes and how to interlock them for specific types of protection or wards. He learned which runes were for which kinds of danger, and even a few offensive ones that would attack whoever was targeting the protected person. He even learned how to attach the runes to specific people, to better protect them. The last thing Deaton showed him was how to activate them.

“These would have come in handy back when Kate-“ he cut himself off, watching Peter’s reaction in the corner of his eyes. Peter remained silent, but his eyes were flashing.

“I had considered that, but it’s far too dangerous,” Deaton commented absently.

“I’m sorry, what? For a second it sounded like you were suggesting time travel,” Stiles said immediately. Even Peter looked marginally interested.

“I may have,” Deaton agreed.

“That’s impossible,” Peter cut in. “Even if someone could go back, changing the past in such a large way is _far_ too risky.”

“Yeah, but could you imagine how it would be if it worked?” Stiles shot back.

“Sometimes the benefits are worth the risks. What is it worth to you?” Deaton asked. The question was directed at Peter, but Stiles couldn’t stop thinking about it.

That’s how he found himself at the Nemeton three months later, ready to start a ritual that would either send him back in time, or… He refused to consider the alternative. Peter had pointed it out enough times already. He’d also given him an entire family history in case it actually worked. Stiles was as prepared as he could possibly be.

He took his position in front of the Nemeton carefully. He’d already etched the runes into the stump, and all of his candles were in place. All he needed to do was light the candles and activate the runes.

“Please don’t kill me,” he said softly as he lit the candles. This was it; the moment of truth. He took a deep breath and activated the runes.


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles runs into some complications and makes some new (old) friends.

When Stiles opened his eyes, he was disoriented to see that he was in his bedroom. He sighed, pushing himself up and off of his bed. It must not have worked, then. Well, at least he hadn’t died. Had Peter carried him home? That seemed likely. He’d told the ‘wolf that he planned to do the ritual at the Nemeton that night. It was entirely likely that Peter had gone to check on him and found him passed out.

He continued to think about why the ritual must have gone wrong as he got dressed. He didn’t bother to do anything with his hair, which meant he didn’t look into a mirror before he went downstairs. He didn’t plan to do anything that day but wallow in his disappointment. At least Derek would never know what he tried to do. He made it all the way to the kitchen before he realized something was really _wrong._

His mother was standing at the stove, humming as she flipped pancakes. Stiles stood in the doorway just staring at her with wide eyes until she turned around and saw him. She smiled brightly.

“Good morning, sunshine,” she said.

“Mom,” he whispered brokenly.

“Stiles, sweetie, what’s wrong?” His mother stepped towards him, but stopped when he quickly took a step backwards. She masked her hurt carefully. _This couldn’t be real._ “Talk to me, please.”

He kept a little distance between them as he thought things over. He didn’t feel anything bad coming from her like he had when the Nogitsune would play with him. And she looked and sounded just like his mother had when she was alive. Everything down to the song she’d been humming was authentic. That had to mean…

“Mom,” he gasped again, hurrying forward to hug her tightly. _His ritual had worked._

“Honey, what’s going on? Are you feeling alright?” she asked, pulling away from him to place a hand on his forehead. His laugh sounded almost hysterical, and he hadn’t meant to let it escape.

He must have transported into his younger self. It’s the only reason he could think of that she wouldn’t be freaking out, too. He couldn’t decide if that would make what he needed to do harder or easier.

“Nothing, Mom,” he promised. “I just must not be fully awake yet.”

She didn’t even look suspicious. He’d forgotten how nice it was to be trusted so completely. His father loved him, but his trust had been completely broken from all the lies and excuses that Stiles had had to come up with over the years. He had to work tears from his eyes when she turned back to the stove.

“Are you ready for school?” she asked. It made Stiles pause. Was he ready for school? Was he ready to face a Scott that hadn’t utterly betrayed him yet? And was he ready to begin his carefully thought out plan? Stiles didn’t know. He hadn’t expected to make it this far.

“Yeah, I’m ready,” he answered, sounding far more confident than he felt.

“Go grab your books, and I’ll have these done by the time you’re back,” she told him. “And don’t forget your Adderall!”

He took his time in his room this time. He could see the differences now that he knew to look. His posters were different; most of them were of children’s movies and old bands that his mother loved in this time. His clothes that were usually strewn all over the floor were neatly folded and placed on top of his dresser. The pictures of his pack that he’d stuck to his walls were gone, because the events hadn’t happened yet. He realized with a start that he’d be seeing Erica and Boyd at school. This time, he vowed to be a better friend- even if they didn’t know him yet.

He finally looked into a mirror when he grabbed his bag, and he had to suppress a laugh. He knew for a fact that he was eleven years old, and in the beginning of sixth grade. And that meant he’d have about six months to protect the Hale pack from dying in the fire. His plan was fairly solid, thanks to Peter’s information. He could begin phase one that very day.

His mom was just putting his plate on the table when he got back to the kitchen. She smiled at him happily when he entered the room and he just _had_ to smile back. “Did you remember your Adderall?”

“Yeah, I took it before I came down,” Stiles lied. His mom didn’t even blink at the lie, and Stiles felt a little guilty.

“I’ll drive you to school on my way to my appointment this morning,” she told him, gesturing for him to eat quickly.

He only ate because he knew that he’d be a wreck if he didn’t. He couldn’t skip both his medication and food. He needed to be able to focus at least a little bit today, and the Adderall made it harder for him to access his spark. He was quiet on the way to school, and his mother kept shooting him worried looks when she thought he wasn’t paying attention. It took her a few extra seconds to unlock the door when she parked.

“I love you, Mischief,” she told him. “Have a good day.”

The forgotten nickname brought on a new round of tears for him to blink away. He smiled at her, leaning over to hug her before he opened his door. “I love you too, Mom.”

Scott was waiting for him on the school steps. Stiles had to take a few deep, calming breaths before he approached. He knew, logically, that this Scott had never done anything to hurt him. If his mother hadn’t noticed anything really off about Stiles, Scott definitely wasn’t observant enough to figure it out. Still, Stiles was nervous.

“You’re later than usual,” Scott told him. Stiles just shrugged in response. “Dude, are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Stiles told him. He was mentally berating himself. This Scott would _never_ do anything to hurt him. In fact, this Scott had gotten into multiple fights to _defend_ Stiles. He was _not_ going to hold a grudge.

“If you say so. My mom is going to pick us up after school so you can help me with homework. You didn’t forget, right?” Scott asked. He still had those puppy dog eyes that Stiles couldn’t say no to.

“Of course I didn’t forget,” Stiles replied easily. “I’m looking forward to it.”

It was disturbing how good he’d apparently gotten at lying. Scott was completely convinced. Not even his mother had doubted him. Now he just needed to fool the Hales long enough to save their lives, and he’d be set. If only it were that easy to lie to a werewolf. There were no runes to cover his heartbeat. Not that he’d learned, anyways.

Stiles made it all the way to lunch without running into a single Hale, which was beginning to be a problem. According to Peter, he should be watching for three Hale children in school. Cora Hale was his age and in the same grade as him; it should have been easy to find her. Natalie Hale was Derek’s youngest sister, and she was in the grade below him. Then there was Peter’s daughter, Faye Hale, who was in the grade above him. He was disappointed that he hadn’t seen them yet.

Scott made him at his locker, and they walked to the cafeteria together. Stiles was being too quiet and he knew it, but he was trying to come up with a good excuse to talk to Cora Hale in the cafeteria. In a strange twist of fate, she took care of it for him.

They made it three steps into the cafeteria before Cora grabbed his arm and yanked him aside. He winced internally, but didn’t let any pain show on his face. He knew from Peter that Cora had some trouble with her control at this age. Her glare was the perfect imitation of Derek’s, he was alarmed to find out. He had never interacted with her much before.

“Stilinski, right?” she demanded.

“Uh-“ Stiles replied, his brain briefly shutting down. He’d forgotten just how scary the Hales could be when they were angry.

“We need to talk,” she told him bluntly. “But not here. My house after school.”

As much as he hated the idea of angering a young werewolf, he immediately shook his head. “I’m busy after school today. Tomorrow would be better,” he told her.

“Fine,” she snapped through gritted teeth. “But you better be ready with an explanation. The _truth_. We’ll know if you lie.”

“Wow, you guys are really not subtle at all,” Stiles said. He immediately clamped his mouth shut, regretting not taking his Adderall when he’d had the chance. She gave him one last angry look before stalking out of the cafeteria. Scott was gaping at him when he walked back over.

“What just happened?” he demanded.

“I made a friend?” Stiles tried.

“Try again,” Scott replied. At least he looked amused.

“Fine. I got one step closer to making said friend,” Stiles shot back. It wasn’t even a lie.

“Does that mean she’s going to start sitting with us?” Scott asked, apparently accepting that answer.

“Probably not. But I know who we _are_ going to sit with,” he replied. He grabbed Scott’s arm and (gently) dragged him over to a mostly empty table in the back corner of the cafeteria. Erica Reyes and Vernon Boyd stared at them both as Stiles manhandled Scott into one of the empty seats. He saw Isaac Lahey walking into the cafeteria and grinned. “Stay here.”

He didn’t give Scott a chance to reply. He took off across the cafeteria to catch Isaac before he ducked back out. “Isaac!” he called cheerfully. He knew better than to touch him, given his home situation. That would need to be resolved as soon as possible, Stiles knew. “Come sit with us. We don’t bite.” ( _Yet,_ he thought, trying not to laugh.)

Isaac eyed him warily, clearly unsure of whether or not he could trust this virtual stranger. Stiles just waited, knowing from experience with his Isaac that curiosity would win over caution. His father hadn’t ever managed to beat that out of him. He was rewarded for his (surprising) patience when Isaac nodded and allowed himself to be led back to the table. Scott was watching Stiles with an equally wary expression, clearly unsure of what to think about this sudden change.

“Isn’t this nice? A bunch of friends, enjoying lunch together,” Stiles said, grinning as he sat down across from Boyd. “Do I need to do introductions?”

“Why are you sitting here?” Erica asked softly. She was staring at him with flaming cheeks. He’d forgotten how shy she was before she’d been turned. Hopefully having friends would help with her confidence before she got the bite. Because if Stiles had any say at all, she’d still be getting the bite.

“Why not?” he shot back with a grin. “You’ve got plenty of room, and we were getting tired of sitting by ourselves.”

“We were?” Scott asked, looking adorably confused. Stiles suppressed a sigh, still grinning.

“Yes,” he said pointedly. “We were. And what better place to sit than with Erica and Boyd?”

“You know our names?” Boyd asked, equally confused. Stiles was starting to wonder how they’d ever survived as long as they had.

“Of course I know your names. And you know ours, right?” he replied gently.

“Stiles,” Erica said immediately. Then, if it was possible, her face turned an even brighter shade of red. “And Scott McCall.”

“And you’re Isaac, right?” Scott asked, directing his puppy dog eyes at Isaac. Isaac avoided meeting his gaze, but he did nod. That was better than Stiles had expected for the first day, if he was being honest.

“We’re not bothering you, right?” he asked. If they actually minded the company, he’d get Scott up and walk away for the time being. The point was to befriend them, not alienate them further. He could already see that Erica suspected this was a massive prank meant to torment her. Stiles remembered pretty vividly the time that Lydia told him about Erica’s massive crush on him. He’d have to find a way to let her down gently later. Or maybe it would never even come up. After all, she’d already found Boyd on her own.

“No, you’re not bothering us,” she told him. She glanced over at Boyd in confirmation, and he nodded calmly.

“Great! So, what did you guys think of the history quiz?” he asked, his smile just a little bit brighter.

The rest of the day seemed to go by impossibly quickly. Scott’s mother was waiting for them when the final bell rang, and Scott wouldn’t stop talking the whole way out of the school. He was as excited about making new friends as he was that he passed the English quiz. He kept alternating between telling Stiles about jokes his teacher told to talking about how Isaac had sat by him in history without being prompted.

Stiles had had equally good luck with Boyd. Erica still seemed to be avoiding him after lunch, but when their biology teacher had announced they’d need to pick a lab partner, Boyd had moved his things to the seat beside Stiles automatically. Stiles had been amazed at both the show of solidarity and the fact that Boyd was actually _really_ smart. Like, he was giving Stiles a run for his money, and Stiles was technically way older than him. (He was going to blame the fact that biology had been almost eight years ago for him.)

Melissa McCall had very clearly just been through a rough patch. If Stiles remembered the timeline correctly (and of course he did), Melissa had just gone through the final divorce hearing a few weeks previously. Stiles was pretty sure she was at the working-herself-into-the-ground stage of recovery. He recognized it from his own father after his mother had passed away. Stiles gave her a small, sympathetic smile, which she tried to return. It didn’t quite meet her eyes.

“Did you boys have a good day?” she asked, pulling away from the school. Scott nodded eagerly, launching into the story of what had happened at lunch as Stiles and Melissa both listened in amusement. Scott at eleven years old was a force to be reckoned with, and Stiles had forgotten.

“Oh, before I forget, your mother called me earlier,” Melissa told Stiles, cutting off the end of Scott’s third story about Isaac.

“Is she okay?” Stiles asked quickly, feeling himself pale. It was too soon for her to be getting sick, but…

“She’s fine, Stiles. But she wanted to know if you’d mind staying the night with us tonight. Apparently, your father made reservations at a fancy restaurant and forgot to tell her about them,” Melissa assured him. He sagged in relief.

“Oh. Sure,” he answered, smiling tiredly. It hadn’t occurred to him when he’d agreed to go back in time that it would mean seeing his mother again. He genuinely didn’t think he’d survive having to watch her die again. He’d have to work fast to get Talia Hale to trust him. He needed to either save his mother or leave before she got sick. It’s the only way he’d make it through this.

“Great! I thought we could order pizza and watch movies tonight,” Melissa told them, grinning. It was clear she’d taken the night off of work to watch them. It made him stop and really think about the real motivation behind his mother asking for him to spend the night. He’d been told that he took after her in nearly every way, and that was something he’d do if he knew his friend were working themselves into the ground.

He was still thinking about it as he struggled to fall asleep that night. He was used to having sleepovers with the McCalls, but it had been years since the last time he’d spent so much time with both Melissa and Scott together when there was no active threat involved. It was nice, but it also felt wrong. He shouldn’t have been having fun while there were so many people he needed to save. How could he sleep when he needed to be figuring out what to tell the Hales the next evening?

His last thought before sleep pulled him under was that at least Derek was happy with his family right now. Stiles hadn’t managed to screw that up yet. He would do everything in his power to make sure that it would continue to be true. After all, that was his entire reason for this whole trip through time. Wasn’t it?


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles encounters the Argents. (Gerard Argent is a child throwing a temper tantrum, and you can't convince me otherwise.)

Stiles at eleven years old had been extremely mischievous, but he never would have done the things that Stiles at nineteen years old was planning to do. Scott’s mother dropped them off at school the following morning, and Stiles walked inside with Scott, letting his best friend talk. They both spotted Isaac at the same time, and waved him over. He came, but he still looked wary. Stiles was sad to note a brand new bruise on Isaac’s arm that he knew would just be played off as running into something. He would be fixing that. He had to.

Once Isaac and Scott really started to talk, Stiles started to slowly back away. Isaac immediately noticed and shot him a curious look, but Stiles waved for him to keep talking. He was pleased to see that Isaac seemed to take the hint. He kept Scott distracted while Stiles slipped out of a side door and pulled a marker out of his pocket.

Deaton had taught him runes for everything in the months leading up to this trip. He’d made him memorize so many defensive runes and Stiles had had headaches for days. Of course, he was glad he’d done it now. He drew slowly on his arm, taking his time to make the three interlocked runes completely perfect. He didn’t want to activate them and immediately blow up, after all. Once he was satisfied with his work, he reached down into his spark and twisted to activate them. He felt a cool wave of air wash over him and knew that it had worked. Stiles was now virtually invisible to the human eye. The wolf eye was an entirely different story, of course. But he didn’t plan on running into any of those until later.

It was laughably easy to get off of the school grounds and into town from there. Nobody even glanced at him. Their gazes passed right over him as if he wasn’t even there. He’d based this particular ‘spell’ off of Harry Potter’s notice-me-not charm. Deaton had not been amused, but was impressed when it worked on Peter. For today to work, he needed to gather as much information as he could. Unfortunately, Stiles at eleven years old had not been observant of anything that was not himself or Scott. He hadn’t even noticed his own mother’s illness until it was too late. He would not be making those mistakes again.

His first target was easy to spot. His father was at the station, sitting at the desk he’d had when he was just a deputy. It was strange to see him sitting there after so many years of him being the Sheriff. Stiles knew he’d be elected in just three short years, but it would have been so helpful if he’d already been the sheriff in this time. There was nothing he could do about that. Stiles sat down in an empty chair a few feet away from his father’s desk, knowing exactly what he was waiting for.

Peter had told him about the day the Argents went to the police about the Hales. He remembered it clearly, though back then it hadn’t really seemed important to them. It wasn’t the first time the Argents had attempted to press charges on one of them for looking at an Argent wrong. They claimed the Hales were trying to drive them out of town, which… Peter had admitted wasn’t far from the truth. While Talia had never actually told them to do so, a few of the Hales had taken it upon themselves to intimidate the Argents into leaving Beacon Hills. It had not worked.

It didn’t take very long before an angry Gerard Argent stormed into the station and loudly demanded to speak to someone about filing charges against ‘those damned Hales’. His father sighed and stood, walking swiftly up to the front desk to take care of it before anyone else could get there. Half of the force were so intimidated by the Hales that they would probably have pressed the charges without question. Half of the reason that his father had been elected sheriff was because he was fair and unbiased. He led Gerard back to his desk and gestured for him to sit in the visitor chair. Stiles leaned forward to hear everything better.

“What seems to be the problem, Mr. Argent?” his father asked. He kept his tone purposefully neutral, as he always did when he was questioning Stiles.

“They did it again!” Gerard snapped. “We’ve been minding our own business, and those damn Hales have been sabotaging us!”

“And what is it, exactly, that they’ve done now?” his father asked, pulling a pen and pad of paper towards himself.

“They threw a brick through my front window!” Gerard snapped. “And when we got it boarded up, they graffitied it! And just this morning, when I went out to start my car, my back tires were completely torn apart! Shredded to pieces!”

Stiles sat back, clapping a hand over his mouth to keep from snorting. He was invisible, but they would still hear him. And once they knew where to look, the illusion would be broken. He’d learned that the hard way. But it was hard for him to keep quiet when he processed what Gerard was trying to claim the Hale family had done. All of it sounded like teenaged rebellion, and Stiles was fairly certain he knew that some of the current students at Beacon Hills High had done it. One look at his father’s face showed that he believed the same.

“And what proof do you have that it was the Hales?” he asked, leaning back in his seat. Gerard faltered for a moment before glaring angrily.

“What do you mean, what proof do I have? It’s always the Hales!” Gerard spat. “They’ve been trying to run us out of town for months now, and they’re angry that we won’t budge.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Argent, but I can’t arrest an entire family without a single shred of proof that they’ve committed a crime,” his father replied calmly. “We’ll definitely look into it, but until proof is presented, there’s not much we can do.”

“The graffiti!” Gerard suddenly shouted, causing several heads to turn towards them. “The graffiti they left was that same symbol that’s on all of their vehicles. The triskele.”

“That certainly points us in their direction, but it is not definitive proof,” his father sighed. “But I’ll make some calls and see what I can find.”

“Thank you, deputy,” Gerard spoke through his teeth, clearly angry that he wasn’t being taken at his word. And that, more than anything else, made Stiles think that at least half of the claimed vandalism had been staged specifically to frame the Hales. He had a sneaking suspicion that the shredded tires were to prove later that the Hales were not following the code. It would give them a reason to wipe out the pack, if they could frame them for something bigger than that.

“Have a nice day, Mr. Argent,” his father told the man pleasantly, watching him carefully as he stomped out of the station. Then he sat forward to massage his temples for a few minutes. He clearly didn’t want to follow up on these claims, and Stiles couldn’t blame him. He watched as his father picked up the phone and dialed a number that Stiles couldn’t quite make up.

“Claudia, it’s me. The Argents are at it again. Could you give Talia a call and let her know? Thanks. I know you guys have lunch once a week, but I don’t think it’ll wait until Friday. He’s out for their blood. Yeah, he was just in here. Claiming vandalism, of all things. Shredded tires and graffiti. I know. I thought it would just pass, but it hasn’t. It’s starting to worry me. Thanks, honey. I’ll see you tonight. I love you.”

Stiles wiped the tears from his eyes as the one-sided conversation ended. He hadn’t heard his mother’s replies, but he could imagine them. He hadn’t know that his mother had been friends with any of the Hales. He had a brief moment of anger that none of them had tried to save her when they had the chance, but… that wasn’t fair. He remembered that she’d stopped leaving the house after she’d gotten her diagnosis. It was possible that Talia hadn’t known until it was too late to help her. He was going to find out.

Stiles left the station shortly after his father had ended the call with his mother, and he was happy to see that Gerard hadn’t gone far. He was standing with a very young Chris Argent, and they were talking quietly together. Stiles moved closer to listen to the conversation, but kept more of a distance this time. They were hunters; if any humans were going to notice him, it would be them.

“I don’t think this is a good idea,” Chris was saying. “Provoking them seems like the best way to make sure they attack. I thought our goal was to make sure that they never attack?”

“Our goal is to keep the town safe from those monsters. It’s only a matter of time before they snap and start killing people. They are wild animals; they shouldn’t be allowed to live- in a town,” Gerard told him. Stiles _really_ didn’t like the pause he put in his sentence.

“I understand that you think they’re feral animals, but I think they’re people, too,” Chris protested. “They’re half human, at least. We have to be able to reason with them. Maybe they’d leave peacefully if we explain our concern.”

“The only reason we will ever get close enough to be heard is if we’re shooting them down,” Gerard told him firmly. “We’re doing this to protect our family. To protect your daughter. You want Allison to be safe, right? She can come live with us when the Hales are gone. You remember what Victoria said, right?”

“I… yes,” Chris sighed. He looked down, and Stiles could see how dejected he was. How much he didn’t like his wife’s ultimatum. Stiles was struck by sudden respect for Chris Argent that he hadn’t felt since the man had abandoned them when they needed him.

“What are we talking about, boys?” a female voice asked from behind Stiles, and he had to scramble to the side to avoid being trampled by Kate Argent. She was coming from a gun shop, because of course she was.

“Nothing, darling,” Gerard told her with a bright smile. “Did you get what we need?”

“Of course I did,” she said, grinning. “The poor man practically gave it to me for nothing. The people in this town are too easy. Tomorrow is going to be a cinch.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Gerard told her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder in the worst excuse for an embrace that Stiles had ever seen. He’d forgotten just how messed up this family really was. “We’ll make sure all the pieces are in place for you tomorrow. The paperwork made it to the school office this morning. You’ll be teaching English, I believe.”

“Perfect. My favorite subject,” Kate replied lightly. “You know, if it wasn’t for those damned beasts, I could see us really liking it here.”

“They won’t be here much longer,” Gerard promised. Stiles was disturbed to see that the man absolutely believed that, too. They were already planning for the fire.


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles meets and convinces the Hales.

Stiles made it back to school just as the lunch bell was ringing. He quickly wiped the runes off of his arm to break them and joined the crowd. Scott was waiting for him by his locker as if he’d never left, but he was frowning suspiciously. “Where did you go this morning? I turned around and you were gone,” he asked.

“I had to get to class early,” Stiles lied. “I had some questions about my essay and I didn’t want to ask them in front of the class. I’ve got that one with Lydia, and I don’t want her to think I’m stupid.” It was only halfway a lie. He did have that class with Lydia, and Stiles at age eleven would rather have died than embarrass himself in front of her. Scott accepted that answer easily.

“Are we still sitting with Erica and Boyd? Isaac promised to find us,” his friend asked, changing the subject.

“Oh! Yeah, we are. We’ll never befriend them if we’re inconsistent,” Stiles replied. He almost rolled his eyes at the confused look in Scott’s eyes. “We have to sit and talk with them every day.”

“Okay, cool,” Scott agreed. Stiles hadn’t expected much resistance when it came to Scott, but he’d thought maybe it would take him longer to be convinced that they needed these friends. Stiles had always thought they were okay as they were- the two of them against the world. Apparently, Scott hadn’t felt the same way.

Erica and Boyd were sitting at exactly the same table, not speaking or looking at each other. Stiles could tell as soon as they walked into the cafeteria that they were waiting to see whether this had all been a joke or if they were actually going to make friends this year. It made him both sad that they’d been so neglected, and very happy that they’d found each other.

They both jumped when Scott put his lunch down on the table, their eyes snapping up to stare and Scott and Stiles settled into the seats across from them. Isaac slid into the seat beside Scott’s only a minute later. It was quiet at first, until Stiles couldn’t take it any longer.

“So, did you guys manage to get the math homework done? Scott and I struggled with it,” Stiles started, watching Erica and Boyd carefully. He didn’t miss the baffled expressions they exchanged.

“Uh. Yeah, I got it done,” Isaac said softly, breaking the silence. “It wasn’t that hard, actually, once you figure out the formula.”

“You figured it out? Dude, you have to show me!” Scott exclaimed, grinning. He turned his whole body towards Isaac as they started to talk, and Stiles turned his full attention to the two across from him.

“How are you guys doing?” he asked softly.

“Why are you doing this?” Erica shot back, frowning at him. Boyd was studying him as though he was an intense puzzle that he’d like to solve. Stiles sighed, fighting the urge to tug at his hair in frustration.

“Is it so wrong to want to make friends?” he asked warily, leaning forward in his chair. “Look, I know what the rest of the school has done to you guys, okay? I know. But they’ve done the same to the three of us. Isaac is so withdrawn that Scott appears to be the only person he now trusts. And Scott is the best person in the world, but he got dragged down because he made friends with me. And I’m a hyperactive spaz who can’t sit still and can’t focus to save my life on a good day. I know you guys know what happened between me and Whittemore.”

“And none of that explains why you’re sitting here _now_ ,” Boyd replied, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh my god, you two are the worst. The literal worst. Well, no, that would be the Argents, but still. You’re a close second. Can you just accept that we’re not going anywhere and maybe act like you want to be friends?” Stiles snapped, finally losing his temper. Erica was laughing at him when he looked back up.

“I like you, Stilinski,” she told him, grinning. Even Boyd seemed to be amused now.

“Thanks?” he asked, starting to smile. “If that was all it took, I should have done that yesterday. Are we done now? Can we just be friends?”

“We can be friends,” she promised him. Then she finally started to eat.

Stiles felt pretty good about the progress he’d made with his former pack when the final bell rang. So good, in fact, that he’d forgotten he was being dragged to the Hale house for an interrogation. He was reminded as soon as he walked out of the school and found Cora and Laura Hale leaning against the wall, waiting for him.

“Oh shit,” he whispered, pasting on a smile as they walked over. Cora snickered at him, amused by his obvious stupidity. Laura just looked him over curiously.

“Oh, you were right,” she said softly to Cora. “I can smell it, too.”

“Right? He didn’t even try to hide it. But I’ve never smelled it on him before,” Cora replied. Stiles rolled his eyes.

“Can we at least pretend you’re human around the other humans?” he muttered, making sure they were the only ones who would hear him. Both of their eyes snapped to him again, and he was suddenly flanked by a pair of wolves.

“Oh, I like him,” Laura grinned. “Mom is going to _hate_ this, though. You know how she feels about magic users.”

“She likes Deaton,” Cora protested.

“Nobody likes Deaton,” Stiles interrupted. “We all tolerate him, but he’s full of too much bullshit to be liked.”

“I’m keeping you,” Laura informed him. And wasn’t that the creepiest thing he’d heard all day? (It wasn’t. Nothing could top Gerard and Kate Argent.)

Laura had driven the Camaro, because of course she had. Stiles very carefully didn’t comment on it, but his amusement must have shown on his face somehow. Laura kept giving him curious glances, but Cora was pretty much ignoring him. They made it all the way to the edge of town before Laura broke down and started asking him questions.

“Why have we never noticed you before?” she asked, glancing at him through the mirror.

“I wasn’t here before,” he answered honestly. Cora’s eyes shot to him and she scowled, but they could both hear that he wasn’t lying.

“But aren’t you the deputy’s son?” Laura asked.

“Yes, I am,” Stiles replied, smiling. “And maybe you’ve met my mother? She has lunch with your mother once a week.”

“Claudia,” Cora supplied to her sister, who looked confused. Laura nodded, accepting that and quickly moving on.

“How do you know magic? We’ve never encountered someone like you before. You don’t smell like Deaton,” she pushed.

“Do you want me to answer all of this now, or can you wait until your whole family is around to hear it? I don’t really want to repeat all of this,” Stiles sighed. Laura looked supremely disappointed, but she didn’t press any further.

Stiles couldn’t remember ever seeing the Hale house before it had burned down. The shell of the house that he was used to seeing had been huge, and he could tell that it was grand in it’s time. Now, pulling up to the house in it’s prime, Stiles was stunned to silence. Both wolves could hear the exact moment that he saw the house, because he knew his heartbeat picked up. It wasn’t really because he was nervous; there was no reason for them to attack him, so he’d be perfectly safe. The Hales were peaceful. He just couldn’t believe how much they’d truly lost because of the Argents. He was starting to understand why Peter had gone so crazy.

“Look, just stay calm, okay? Mom isn’t going to like that we didn’t know about you, or that you know what we are, but she’s a fair alpha. She won’t hurt you,” Laura hurried to assure him. He was oddly touched.

“I know she won’t. The Hales have always been peaceful,” he assured her. “I’m not scared.” He knew they’d know he was telling the truth.

He allowed himself to be led into the Hale house by the two sisters, keeping his breathing as slow and calm as he could. He wasn’t scared, but he _was_ nervous. This would be his first time meeting nearly the entire Hale family, and he wasn’t exactly good at first impressions. He wasn’t sure how he’d managed to win Laura Hale over as quickly as he did.

The entire Hale pack was waiting for them inside of the frankly huge sitting room. Talia Hale was the first to draw his attention. As the alpha, she sat in the center of the room. She wore a fitted pantsuit and her hair was piled on top of her head in a neat bun. It was clear she’d come straight from work for this, and she did not look happy about it. On her left was Peter. Stiles would have recognized him even without the pictures that he’d supplied in an effort to help. On Talia’s right was her husband, Jonathon Hale. He had nearly blonde hair, and was clearly very tall even though he was sitting. He was a human, if Stiles remembered correctly (which he knew that he did).

Behind Talia and her husband stood the three children that had not been at the school to pick Stiles up. Derek was just as obvious as Peter was, and Stiles ached to see how young and happy he still looked. This was nearly two years after the death of Paige, and Derek looked comfortable with his family and still beautifully content. Stiles knew immediately that he hadn’t met Kate yet. If Stiles had any say in it, he never would.

Beside Derek stood Caden Hale, Derek’s older brother. His hair was lighter than Derek’s, but their faces were nearly identical. They could have been twins, if he wasn’t so obviously older. He was human, too. Peter had told him there was a lot of disappointment when Caden was born, because they’d all thought this would be their next alpha. When he was born human, Talia and Jonathon had immediately started trying for another baby. Caden and Laura were only ten months apart in age. Still, it was clear that Caden had never been told about the disappointment. He was smiling slightly as he alternated between watching his family and watching Stiles squirm.

Natalie Hale was leaning against the back of her father’s chair, looking bored beyond belief. They must have pulled her out of school for the day in order to prepare her for this meeting. Stiles knew they would have beaten her here, otherwise. Natalie was a wolf, which he would have known immediately even if Peter hadn’t told him. She kept flashing her golden eyes at him impatiently. Stiles wasn’t sure if she was trying to scare him or just having a little fun. Her hair was as pale as her father’s, and her face was a younger version of her mother’s.

Peter had his arms around a woman who was sitting in front of him, but it looked more like habit than love. Peter hadn’t spoken very much about his mate when he was telling Stiles about his family. Olivia Hale was human, Stiles remembered. She had dark hair and a light complexion, and Stiles thought that she was absolutely beautiful. But her eyes were cold as she stared at him, and she kept her hand tightly wrapped around her daughter’s wrist.

Faye Hale was trying not to wince under her mother’s grip. She was the palest of the Hales, both in skin tone and hair color. Stiles could immediately tell that she wasn’t a wolf, but he could sense that she wasn’t human, either. He didn’t know what she was, if he was being honest, and Peter hadn’t told him. That was a mystery he wasn’t going to be able to resist solving.

Laura and Cora took their places around the pack, and Stile’s attention went from cataloguing the Hales to paying more attention to the alpha. Laura took the place her father made for her, sitting between him and her mother. As the alpha heir, she was Talia’s second. Cora, however, went to stand on the other side of Derek. She leaned against him and he scented her absently, settling her nerves. Stiles smiled as he watched.

Talia cleared her throat, drawing his attention again as she regarded him sternly. “Who are you?” she demanded.

“My name is Mieczyslaw Stilinski, but you can call me Stiles,” he told her calmly. He was still smiling, trying to be as pleasant as possible.

“Claudia’s son?” she asked, though she clearly already knew the answer. “I wasn’t aware that the Stilinski’s had magic in their blood.”

“They don’t,” Stiles sighed. “My mother and father are completely ordinary. And we’ll get back to them, I promise, but we’ve got a lot to cover. I’m a spark, according to Alan Deaton. He’s been training me.”

“Alan hasn’t had a student in seven years,” Talia said sharply. They could all hear that he was telling the truth, and it was clearly upsetting them.

“No, he hasn’t,” Stiles agreed. “And yet, here I am. If you called him here, he wouldn’t recognize me, but he’d confirm my spark. It’s not as strong right now as it was when he last saw me. And… god, tenses are confusing. Can I explain what’s happening without getting my throat torn out?”

Peter was snickering quietly, earning disapproval from most of the pack in the room. “I’m sorry, but this is just so obvious. And impossible. How did you do it?” he asked, wiping a tear from his eyes. He was as much of an asshole in this time, it seemed.

“Actually, you helped,” Stiles admitted. Talia shot her brother a betrayed look, and he raised his hands in protest. “Deaton gave me the ritual, and you helped me practice carving the runes. You were supposed to check on me about an hour after I did it, and… you’re probably worrying.”

“I care about you?” Peter asked, raising an eyebrow. “What an interesting development.”

“We’re pack,” Stiles said softly. He knew they could smell the hurt rolling off of him when he thought about his pack, but he couldn’t change it. If nothing else, it made Peter stop talking. Talia was eyeing him with new curiosity.

“Explain,” she said simply. So Stiles did.

He spent over an hour describing the ritual he’d used, and about his intense training with Deaton. He skimmed over any mention of his pack or the Hale family, never mentioning any names other than Peter and Deaton. He knew they all had questions, and he wasn’t giving them answers. Not yet. He finished by telling them that he woke up in his younger self, and then stopped to give them time to think. At the very least, they seemed to believe him.

“If we agree that this is possible, why did you come back to this specific time? What is it exactly that you’re trying to prevent?” Talia asked, keeping her tone soft. Stiles was pretty sure she was trying not to spook him, which made him laugh. Laura was watching him intensely, as though she could stare the answers out of him.

“In my time, I’ve only seen four of you,” he told them conversationally. “And I only _met_ three.”

“What?” Peter asked, frowning. “But you just told us about how I helped you learn how to use your spark.”

“You’re one of the three I’ve met,” Stiles agreed.

“And the rest of us?” Talia asked. Her expression was neutral, but her eyes were sharp. She looked every bit the alpha she was. “Have we moved on from Beacon Hills?”

“In a manner of speaking,” Stiles sighed. Peter stood and walked from the room. They could all hear something shattering, and Stiles heard his muffled voice shouting profanities. The rest of the Hales were considerably paler when Stiles spoke again. “You died before I ever got the chance to meet you. That’s why I came back.”

“You came back to stop us from dying?” Laura asked, gripping the arms of her chair tightly enough to leave handprints. Stiles nodded. “And… how did we die?”

“You were trapped inside of a burning house,” Stiles said softly. “ _This_ burning house. And actually, you didn’t die, Laura. Not here. You, Derek, Cora, and Peter survived.”

“Who would-“ Caden started, but Talia cut him off without remorse.

“And what are we going to do to prevent this fire from happening?” she demanded, her eyes flashing red. Stiles stood a little straighter, actually prepared for this question.

“We are going to run the Argents out of town,” he told her.


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Hales interact with Stiles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I never imagined this story would get so much attention!! Thank you guys so much!! This chapter is kind of a filler, so that the plot in the next chapter will make more sense. I promise the next chapter will be up within the next couple of days (if I don't break down and post it tonight).

It took less than a day for the Hales to integrate themselves into his life. Most of them couldn’t get to him in school, and he really didn’t expect the ones who could to pay him any mind. Boy, was he wrong. It started with Cora Hale, surprisingly enough.

Stiles was happily surprised to see that on the third day of integrating themselves into the lives of Isaac, Erica, and Boyd, all suspicion was gone. Scott and Stiles sat down at the table they’d begun to think of as theirs, and Erica smiled at them brightly. Even Boyd looked quietly pleased to see them. Isaac joined them after only a few minutes. They were talking about lacrosse tryouts when a new tray was slammed down onto the table. Cora Hale slid into the seat beside Stiles stiffly, like she wasn’t sure why she was doing it. All conversation froze and she stared down at her tray awkwardly.

“Uh. Hi, Cora,” Stiles offered, smiling slightly. He hadn’t expected it, but that didn’t mean he was upset by it.

“Hi,” she replied. She offered nothing else in the way of conversation, choosing instead to eat in silence and listen to them. They picked the conversation back up after only a few more seconds of awkward silence. Scott kept trying to catch Stiles’ eye when he thought the others weren’t paying attention, but he wasn’t subtle at all. It didn’t take long for Cora to start contributing.

“Okay, but you have to agree that Danny Mahealani will make first string,” she interjected when they were discussing whether or not Jackson would make the cut. The general consensus, though annoyed, was that he would.

“Of course he will,” Erica agreed. Isaac and Scott nodded, neither looking very upset about it.

“Are any of you trying out?” Cora asked, offering Stiles one of the cookies out of her pack. He accepted with a pleased smile and pointedly ignored Scott’s looks.

“We all are,” Isaac told her shyly, smiling down at his tray. He hadn’t made eye contact since she sat down, and Stiles _knew_ what that meant.

“Well, not me,” Erica cut in. “I’m made for the stands. You’ll sit with me, right?” She looked at Cora with a surprising amount of hope, and Cora nodded eagerly.

“I wouldn’t miss it,” she agreed. Stiles reached out to squeeze her arm in thanks, though he knew she wouldn’t understand what he was thanking her for.

Cora fit in with their group almost seamlessly. She added to every conversation, and managed to make every single one of them, even Boyd, laugh at least once. Stiles was thrilled that she’d decided to join them, but he kept it to himself. The last thing he wanted to do was jinx this. And when the bell rang, he could tell that this would become a daily routine for all of them. He was looking forward to it.

On his way out of the school, Faye Hale fell into step beside him. She was silent for a whole minute before she threw an arm across his shoulders casually and smiled. “Walk with me? Dad’s busy with research and Mom can’t be bothered to come get me.”

Stiles had many things to say about that, but chose to keep his mouth shut. He simply nodded, not bothering to step away from her. She wasn’t a wolf, but her presence felt familiar to him. He’d definitely met something like her before. “Sure, why not. The preserve?” It wasn’t far from the school, but it _was_ a decent distance from his house.

“Yeah, if you don’t mind. I know it’s out of your way,” Faye replied.

“It’s not a big deal. I don’t have anything going on tonight,” he replied. “Any particular reason you’re not riding with your cousins?”

“Laura is in a mood,” Faye answered, shrugging. It was awkward because she still hadn’t removed her arm from his shoulder. She didn’t seem to care about the awkwardness.

“Uh huh, sure. Is this going to be a thing?” he asked, his lips twitching into a smile.

“Probably,” she grinned. “Is that a problem?”

“I’ll have to let you know,” Stiles replied.

On the walk to the preserve, Faye told him all about their plans for a family barbeque on the next full moon, which was only two weeks away. Stiles didn’t interrupt, choosing to listen rather than add his own commentary. Derek and Peter had never really talked about their extended family, and Faye was a fount of knowledge.

“Aunt Agnes doesn’t usually come out for this stuff, but Mom told me that she’ll be there this time. I heard Uncle Jon saying that it’ll be our biggest gathering in years, but I honestly don’t know why this moon is such a big deal,” Faye finished, just as they were stopping outside of the Hale house.

“It’s an eclipse,” Stiles said softly. Faye looked over at him in surprise.

“You know?” she asked, gripping her bag’s strap tightly.

“Yeah,” he admitted. “I know what it’ll do to you, too. You’re stronger together as a pack. That’s why so many of your family members are coming out. I’d be willing to bet money.”

“I mean, it’s not really going to affect _me_ ,” Faye smirked. “But yeah, I guess you’re probably right. I hadn’t thought of that.”

“I mean, if you know it isn’t going to affect you, you’ve got a reason to not think of it like that,” Stiles told her. “I only took it into consideration because when I’m from, there aren’t that many of us. I’m not like your pack, but my best friend is. I had to help him through all of this- we only had each other in the beginning.”

“I can’t even imagine that,” Faye admitted. “There’s always been so many of us. I don’t know what I’d do if I was suddenly alone.”

“I’m here so that you’ll never have to find out,” Stiles reminded her. He carefully didn’t tell her that if he failed, she’d still never have to find out, and she didn’t mention it for herself.

“You’re coming in, right?” she asked instead, gesturing to the house.

“Nah, I should get home. My mom is expecting me tonight,” Stiles replied. He still felt the pang in his heart every time he thought of her, and he was glad that Faye couldn’t hear whatever it had done when he said it out loud. She simply nodded waved as he walked away.

He made it to the edge of the preserve before the Camaro pulled up beside him and the window rolled down. “Get in,” Laura told him, a predatory smile on her face. Stiles didn’t even hesitate to walk around the side of the car and slide into the passenger seat. Laura was alone, and she seemed tense. Stiles stayed quiet, knowing she’d get to the point before too long. He chose not to be alarmed by the fact that she seemed to know the way to his house.

“I have questions for you,” she told him after a couple minutes of silence. He nodded, waiting for her to ask them. “You said you’ve seen me before.”

“Yes,” he agreed, struggling to keep his heart and breathing steady. He didn’t like where she was going with this.

“But we haven’t met,” she pressed. He shook his head. “How is that possible? You’ve met my brother, sister, and uncle… but not me.”

“You… You weren’t alive,” he admitted. Her grip on the steering wheel tightened alarmingly.

“But I didn’t die in the fire,” she said. It wasn’t a question, so Stiles said nothing. “How did I die, Stiles?”

“I’m not going to tell you that,” he sighed. “It was an accident, as far as I can tell. And I’m here specifically so that it won’t happen.”

“But you’re not sure that you can save us,” she protested. “And if you warn me, I can avoid it.”

“You won’t,” he said quietly, knowing she’d hear him. “If the fire still happens, you will make the exact same choices. It’s who you are, as a person. And I’ve always admired you for it, even though I never knew you. Derek didn’t talk about you often, but he always described you as this amazing, selfless woman who kept him alive and sane at a time when he just wanted to die.”

“What?” Laura gasped. She pulled over to the side of the road, too distressed to keep driving. “He wanted to _die_?”

“I never told you who started the fire, or how they knew to do it, did I?” Stiles asked her, turning in the seat to meet her eyes gravely. “She’s already got herself in place to do it this time around, but I got here first. I don’t think it’ll happen the same way this time, so I’ll tell you about it.”

“Tell me,” Laura demanded, her eyes flashing. And so Stiles told her all about Kate Argent, and how she’d tricked her way into Derek’s heart. He finished with how she lured him out of the house the night she set it on fire, so she could watch his heart break before she killed him, too.

“He… he kept it a secret from all of us?” Laura had tears streaming down her cheeks by the time Stiles finished, but she didn’t acknowledge them. “And how did she fail to kill him, then?”

“You,” Stiles told her. “Before she got the chance to go after him, you got him across the country. The two of you moved to New York, and you only came back when someone started rumors that led you back here. You left Derek back in New York, where you knew he’d be safe, and you came to investigate. And by the time Derek realized he needed to come looking for you…”

“I left him all alone,” she whispered, wiping at her eyes. “I _won’t_ do that this time. Things will be different.”

“See, that’s the thing. Things are already different this time. For all we know, if the fire happens now, _all_ of you could die. Or there could be a different set of survivors,” Stiles pointed out. “Everything has changed just because I’ve told you that there will be a fire. That’s why we need to run the Argents out of town, just to be safe.”

“You know… Peter is planning to kill them, I think. He hasn’t said it out loud, but we can all see it in his eyes. And Mom hasn’t said a single thing against it, so there’s nothing to stop him from doing it,” Laura told him. Stiles shook his head in exasperation.

“The Argents are a massive family of hunters. If he kills Gerard and Kate, more will come here looking for revenge. And if it’s one of you that does it, they’ll come looking for blood. They’ll say you’ve broken the code, and it gives them permission to kill you. And if that happens, there’s nothing I can do to save all of you,” Stiles told her. “And I know you can’t do anything to stop him, so I’m sure I’ll be having the same conversation with Peter myself, later.”

“Nobody can stop him once he’s made up his mind,” Laura warned him.

“Oh, believe me, I know,” Stiles laughed. “It’s nice to know that some things never change.”

“No offense, but I think we’re all hoping that _everything_ changes,” Laura said softly. Stiles could only nod in agreement.


	6. Chapter Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles faces a new dilemma.

_“We can’t let this opportunity escape just because the Hale boy doesn’t seem interested in you,” Gerard snapped. “If you can’t get his romantic interest, integrate yourself as a friend to one of the other Hales. What about the oldest brat? Caden? Our intelligence says he’s human.”_

_“He’s never alone,” Kate snapped. “His sister is usually with him. The one who is supposed to be next alpha.”_

_“So? She’s not going to suspect you. Just be very careful about how much you lie. Give half-truths and everything will be fine,” Gerard told her._

_“Fine, I’ll try it. I don’t understand why we’re suddenly having so much trouble with these mutts. We were supposed to have an easy job in this town. The Hales are spread out and weak,” Kate scowled. “That’s what every scout we’ve sent has said.”_

_“Maybe they’ve been misleading us. It’s possible that they’ve known what we are this whole time. If that’s the case, we’re going to have to revise our entire plan. We will wipe them out; we just have to figure out how,” Gerard told her._

_“I’m still voting for fire,” Kate replied, grinning viciously. “There’s something satisfying about watching monsters burn to the ground, don’t you think?”_

_“As long as it can’t be traced to us, I don’t care how they die,” Gerard shrugged. “Burn them, poison them, string them from the trees for all I care.”_

_“You know, why can’t we do all of those things? There are so many Hales. They could all die in different ways,” Kate suggested. Gerard immediately shook his head._

_“No. It has to look like an accident. That’s my only demand in all of this. Nobody can suspect that they were murdered,” he ordered. Kate pouted, but she nodded her agreement._

Stiles shot up out of his bed, breathing hard and sweating. His skin was pale and clammy, and he had a headache coming on that was worse than any he’d ever had in his life. And he could remember his dream in vivid detail. The longer he focused on it, the more certain he was that it wasn’t just a dream. Deaton had warned him that his spark might manifest like this, since he was using it before it was fully developed.

(“It’s going to hurt, but you’ll be glad it’s doing it,” he’d said. “It could be anything from accidental protective magic to prophetic dreams. However it does it, it’ll be helpful, but it _will_ drain you. If it does it more than a few times, you’ll have to take precautions against it.”)

Knowing he wasn’t going to be sleeping anytime soon, Stiles pulled on his shoes and snuck down the stairs. The front door creaked softly as he opened it, but he didn’t hear his parents stir, so he crept outside and shut it behind him. Without even thinking about it, he headed for the preserve. He wasn’t going to interact with any Hales; if they were any kind of normal, they’d all be asleep. He just wanted to walk in the fresh air to calm himself down. He was also hoping that he’d find an answer for how to protect this family while he was walking.

If they were still going to use fire, the runes that he’d learned in preparation would work. But if they chose a different method of murder, Stiles wasn’t really sure what to do. There were no runes that would block all forms of torture or pain. If they chose poison, for example, there would be nothing Stiles could do. Even if they used wolfsbane, there were too many kinds to ward against. As glad as he was that he’d gotten to overhear their discussion, Gerard and Kate had just made his life so much harder.

He was so busy thinking about all of the ways he’d already messed up that he didn’t realize he’d managed to get himself lost until he stumbled quite literally into a creek and soaked his shoes. He groaned under his breath and sat down on a large rock to take them off. He wouldn’t be walking anywhere anytime soon, then. It took him a few minutes to realize that he had an audience, and he fell off of the rock when he saw the glowing blue eyes watching him from across the creek. Peter was laughing when he stepped out of the shadows.

“You’re quite the conundrum, you know?” Peter told him softly, settling onto the ground across from Stiles gracefully. “You come here and tell us that we’re pack, and then proceed to tell us all about how our old pack was brutally murdered.”

“Well, if it makes you feel any better, I’m pretty sure telling you about your deaths ensured that they’ll happen,” Stiles replied, smiling without humor.

“How so?” Peter asked, tilting his head.

“The Argents are frustrated that things aren’t going according to plan. They know something is up, and they’re trying to decide if they want to continue with their old plan or make a new one,” Stiles informed him. Peter had a dangerous glint in his eyes that had Stiles sighing. “We can’t kill them.”

“And why not?” Peter shot back, but he had a knowing look in his eyes. “It would solve all of this trouble we’ve found ourselves in.”

“And cause brand new problems that we’re not equipped to handle,” Stiles reminded him. “If you kill them, you’re breaking the code. That gives the rest of the hunters permission to exterminate you. And they won’t be playing with fire- which, by the way, is the only thing I _know_ I can protect you from.”

“And I helped you learn how,” Peter said. It wasn’t phrased as a question, but Stiles could read between the lines.

“We were never friends, you and I,” he started. Peter’s lips twitched into a smile. “But after a while, we learned to live with each other. The fire really changed you. Understandably, given everything you lost, but… it was bad, Peter. Not very many people liked you, and nobody trusted you. Deaton gave you a place to stay where you’d be safe, and you spent most of your time at his office. So when he agreed to teach me how to use this spark that I have, you were there for every class I ever had. When Sc- my alpha turned his back on me, and the rest of my pack abandoned me, you and Derek were there. Derek left the pack and claimed you and I as his new one. And shortly after you told me that, you started taking an active part in my lessons. You suggested new runes for me, and you were my guinea pig. That’s how I know for sure that all of my defensive runes work.”

“So I let you torture me to make sure that you were actually learning?” he asked, frowning. Stiles shook his head quickly.

“God, no. It was nothing like that. I’d practice on things, first. When we were sure that I had the hang of it, and the runes were doing what they should, you let me draw them on you for one last test. You were never actually harmed at all. I would have rather done them on myself,” Stiles assured him. He knew Peter could hear that it was the truth.

“But you don’t like me,” Peter stated smoothly.

“And you don’t like me,” Stiles informed him. “But we both like Derek. That’s why we were eventually able to come to an understanding. He needed us, so we were there.”

“He was all I had left?” Peter asked, but he didn’t seem to expect an answer. Stiles nodded anyway.

“You loved your family, Peter. Losing them sent you on a path that you were never meant to go down. If you kill the Argents, you’ll be starting down that same path. I think that you and I could be friends, if you stay off of that path,” Stiles sighed. “So I’ll make you a deal.”

“Oh?” Peter asked, looking amused.

“If it comes down to either the Hales or the Argents dying, I will personally see to it that the Argents go down in flames. Pun intended,” Stiles told him. “That way it can’t be traced back to your family, and no hunters will come after you.”

“What about you?” Peter frowned. He wasn’t arguing, though. He seemed to be considered Stiles with more curiosity than before.

“I won’t be caught. Your family are the only people in the world who know about my spark right now. Nobody will even know that they need to look my way. Deaton would be in more danger of being a suspect than me, and I’ll give enough warning for him to have an airtight alibi,” Stiles replied. Peter was nodding thoughtfully.

“Alright. You’ve got a deal,” he said softly. “I won’t kill the Argents.”

The _yet_ went unspoken, but Stiles would take it. He’d never give Peter a reason to go back on his word. If it came down to it, he was fully prepared to eliminate the Argents himself. Deaton had refused to teach him offensive magic, so Stiles had ‘borrowed’ a couple of his books and taught himself just enough to know that he could take down a family of hunters if it came down to it. He wouldn’t hesitate to use them, either.

“And on that note, I should be heading home,” Stiles sighed. “If I’m not there when my parents wake up, I’ll be in more trouble than I want to think about. Oh! That reminds me.”

“What?” Peter eyed him warily.

“What’s Talia’s stance on adding new betas to her pack?” Stiles asked, grinning. “Because I’ve got a list for her.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Turns out I couldn't resist posting more tonight.


	7. Chapter Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Stiles speaks with Talia Hale.

Stiles hadn’t known much about Talia Hale until Peter had sat him down and told him all about his family. He’d started with Talia, because she was his alpha. It was convenient that Stiles had all of that information now that he had a meeting with her that he couldn’t afford to mess up. Too many lives were at stake.

_“My sister wasn’t actually our parents’ first choice for alpha,” Peter had told him. “We had an older brother who was supposed to take up the mantle when our father was too old. Talia ended up becoming the alpha in a freak accident. Milo was killed, and Talia ended up killing the rogue alpha that had attacked the two of them in self defense. Our father never really forgave her for that.”_

_“Even though it wasn’t her fault?” Stiles asked, frowning._

_“Technically, it was. They weren’t supposed to be outside alone. I would have been with them, had it not been for the fact that they left me watching our baby cousins. Even I knew that it was too dangerous to take them into the forest, and we couldn’t leave them home alone. They were too young,” Peter explained. “So instead of waiting for someone to get home to talk them out of it, Milo and Talia went out for a run together and left me behind.”_

_“And the alpha took them by surprise?” Stiles asked, leaning forward in his seat. Peter sighed, his lips twitching in amusement._

_“No,” he admitted._

_“But-“_

_“Let me tell this, okay?” Peter interrupted. Stiles closed his mouth immediately. He could see how hard it was for Peter to talk about this, even now, so he nodded for him to continue. “They caught the alpha’s scent pretty fast after leaving the house. He was alone and leaving our territory, but Milo wanted to make a statement as a new alpha. He’d just come into his power, and he wanted it to be known that he was the strongest of the Hales now. And Talia worshipped him, so she just agreed. They tracked the alpha to the edge of the preserve, and attacked him together.”_

_“Oh god. But two against one- they should have won,” Stiles said softly. Peter nodded._

_“They would have, had it not been for Milo’s overconfidence. Instead of going for his throat when he had the chance, Milo chose to play with him. And it cost him his life. Talia came home covered in blood and flashing red eyes, and Milo never came home at all. Our father assumed she’d killed him until she explained what happened, but even then…”_

_“He blamed her for Milo’s death,” Stiles finished for him._

_“Yes. And they never spoke to each other again after that day,” Peter replied. “When he died, Talia got full control of the pack, but half of the family still avoided her. That’s why it was so shocking when everyone was at the house for the fire. I’d sent Laura out to get more food, because we were running low. Derek was out with friends, with permission from Talia. And we’d all thought that Cora was hiding in her room. We could hear her heartbeat… I don’t know how she managed to get out.”_

_“But after your brother’s death, what was Talia like? Because that’s the woman I’m going to meet,” Stiles reminded him._

_“She was calculating. She thought everything through before she made any decisions. And she was desperate to prove herself as a good alpha. It was never meant to be her title, which meant that she worked harder than any Hale alpha before her to be good enough to hold that power. Her family’s approval meant everything to her. If they didn’t think something was a good idea, she wouldn’t do it. But she wouldn’t give that as the excuse for why she chose not to do something. I don’t think she ever gave anyone the bite, but I don’t think it was because she was against doing it. I think she just never had a good enough reason to do it. Give her a good reason, and she’d probably agree. But only if she thought they would benefit her family,” Peter told him._

_“And would she be open to the things I’m going to have to tell her?” Stiles asked._

_“Convince her family and you will have convinced her,” Peter replied._

He would never bring up any of what Peter had told him, of course. It wouldn’t help him, and it would just upset anyone in the vicinity. Instead, he’d play to the family aspect when he met with her. He was fully prepared with lists of reasons why the people he’d chosen deserved to be in her pack. Unfortunately, the universe was against him getting to do this for his pack.

He made it to the edge of the preserve before a car he’d never seen before pulled up beside him. The window rolled down and he was surprised and disturbed to see Kate Argent leaning across her seat to talk to him. “Hey, kid. Need a ride?” He couldn’t say any of the many insults he wanted to throw at her, and he couldn’t outrun her with his tiny legs, so he simply stared at her. She seemed amused by it. “C’mon, I don’t bite.”

“Uh. I’m not supposed to get in the car with strangers,” he told her. She rolled her eyes, still grinning. It was predatory, and Stiles wanted badly to wipe it off of her face.

“My name is Kate. There, see, we’re not strangers anymore!” she replied easily. “It’s a long walk back to your house, sweetie. Let me give you a ride.” He was just about to tell her flat out no, and maybe a few extra words, when his salvation arrived.

“Stiles!” Cora called from the edge of the trees. She waved, grinning widely at him. Anyone who didn’t know her wouldn’t see how panicked she was. “I’ve been waiting _forever_!”

“I’m not going home, but thank you,” Stiles told Kate.

“Maybe next time,” she replied. Her smile was definitely fake now, but Stiles didn’t pay her much more attention. He turned his back on her car and hurried over to Cora.

He threw his arm over Cora’s shoulders as they entered the preserve, chatting with her about school meaninglessly until they were sure that Kate could no longer see or hear them. He didn’t pull away from her even then, letting himself lean on his packmate. (He didn’t know when he’d started considering her part of his pack, but he certainly wasn’t going to take it back. He genuinely liked Cora Hale.)

“What was that about?” Cora asked him, pulling him to a stop. They were far enough away from the house that nobody would overhear them.

“That was one of the hunters that will be trying to burn your house down,” Stiles informed her bluntly. “She was offering me a ride home, not that I would have _ever_ gotten into her car.”

“I’m glad I showed up when I did, then,” Cora said, smiling slightly. “We won’t let her hurt you, Stiles.”

“No, we won’t,” Laura agreed, stepping out of the trees behind him and nearly making him fall over in surprise. (He did _not_ squeal like a little girl, thank you very much, Cora.)

“Jesus, I’m going to get you people bells to put around your neck!” he gasped, clutching at his heart dramatically. Laura just laughed, joining them in their walk to the house.

“Really though, I was ready to step in myself. She doesn’t take no for an answer, does she? You’re just a little boy. What was she going to do, kidnap you? If Cora hadn’t shown up, I bet she would have offered you candy next,” Laura ranted. “They shouldn’t be allowed in this town. God only knows what crimes they’ve committed before this.”

“I am _not_ a little boy. And actually…” Stiles started, then stopped himself. He didn’t need to worry them more than they already were. They both knew he had more to say, but neither sister pushed him.

“Listen, I know Mom is going to invite you herself, but I want to be the first to extend the invitation,” Laura started.

“Laur,” Cora frowned, nudging her arm over Stiles’ shoulder.

“You’re basically pack, you know. You smell like it, and I can feel the bonds forming myself. I’m not an alpha yet, but I will be someday. And you being pack means that you should be involved in pack gatherings,” Laura continued.

“Don’t, Laura,” Cora warned. “Mom is going to be so mad.”

“She’s going to do it herself, anyways!” Laura protested. Then she went on as if Cora had never interrupted. “We’re having a big pack gathering this coming week. We’re celebrating the full moon, and it’s an eclipse. A lot of our extended family are coming out for the first time in years, you know. We’d all really like it if you could be there.”

Stiles was stunned into silence. It wasn’t often that something left him speechless, and he was grateful that they gave him time to collect his thoughts before giving his answer. He was also privately grateful to Laura for asking him out here instead of letting her mother do it in front of everyone. Now, when (if) she asked, Stiles would be composed with his answer. Cora seemed distressed, but he was pretty sure Laura knew exactly what she was doing when she’d asked.

“Yeah, yes… I would love to be there,” Stiles finally told them, smiling widely. He’d never imagined when he came back here that he’d be welcomed into the original Hale pack. It made him miss the Derek and Peter that he knew from his time. They would have loved this, he thought.

“Great! Now, when Mom asks, I really need you to pretend you didn’t know it was coming, okay?” Laura grinned. Cora rolled her eyes and shook her head, but she was smiling too.

“I think I can do that,” Stiles agreed. “But it’s not like it’s easy to lie to you guys.”

“You’re not lying. You’re just omitting parts of the truth,” Laura told him. “It’s how I get away with it every time.”

“She does,” Cora sighed. “None of the rest of us can do it the way that she can. Last time Natalie tried, she ended up grounded for two weeks and missed a full moon. And Derek just… shouldn’t try.”

“I love him, but Derek has zero ability to lie,” Laura nodded. “You literally cannot be worse than him at this. I need you to be able to fool her, or I’ll never hear the end of it.”

Stiles snorted, and then laughed so hard that tears were coming out of his eyes. He had to stop walking or risk falling over he was laughing so hard. He was aware of Cora and Laura staring at him in amusement, but he just couldn’t stop. It was so far from the Derek that he knew, and he just didn’t know how to cope.

“Are you… okay?” Laura asked hesitantly when he finally stopped laughing. He was still crying a little, and neither sister seemed brave enough to ask if it was from laughter or genuine sadness. They could probably smell that it was both.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine,” Stiles assured them, and for once it didn’t feel like a lie.

“O-kay,” Cora said slowly, clearly not believing him. “Come on, Mom is waiting for us. We were supposed to have you at the house ten minutes ago.”

“She sent you out to find me?” Stiles asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Uncle Peter suggested that you might get lost in the woods, and Mom was only too happy to send us out to find you. We may be a bit more… antsy than usual right now,” Laura admitted. “I mean, we were doing just fine, and then here you come, from the future, to tell us how horrifically everything is about to go wrong. We keep waiting for the other shoe to drop.”

“Nothing against you,” Cora threw in.

“Oh god, no! You’re great, Stiles,” Laura agreed. “It’s just a lot for us to handle. We didn’t even know that the Argents were a real threat. Gerard complains a lot, but they’ve never made a move against us. And now they’re plotting to burn our house down with us still inside? It’s given us a lot to think about.”

“It’s better that you know to think about it, though, right?” Stiles asked. He carefully did not tell them that they may have to worry about other forms of death now. They didn’t need to worry about it; that was for him to deal with.

“Definitely,” Cora agreed. “You just have to give us time to adjust.”

They made it to the Hale house before Stiles had managed to decide what he wanted to tell them. He wanted to offer them some kind of comfort, but he didn’t know what he could say that wasn’t a lie. He didn’t even have a story to tell them that didn’t end badly. He was actually relieved to see Peter waiting for them on the porch with an amused expression. The amusement went away when he smelled what Stiles was sure was a dizzying array of emotions coming off of him.

“Where have you three been?” Peter asked, leaning against a porch railing.

“We’ve been saving Stiles from potential kidnappers,” Laura said lightly. The look that she gave Peter was anything but light, though. She looked quietly infuriated, and Stiles knew why. The Argents were poaching on Hale territory, and the alpha in her (though dormant) was _not_ okay with it.

“Oh?” Peter asked casually, that evil glint returning to his eyes.

“No,” Stiles said shortly. “Don’t I have an alpha to meet with? Is someone going to let me inside, or…?”

“Yes, of course,” Peter smirked. “She’s been waiting for you. I do hope you’ve come prepared. I told her what you wanted to discuss, and she’s very curious.”

“Great,” Stiles sighed. Either Talia would be willing to hear him, or his entire plan was now ruined. He couldn’t regret involving Peter, though. Getting Peter on his side was the first step to getting Talia on his side. He knew that Cora, Faye, and Laura all seemed to like and trust him. The rest of the Hales were more complicated.

Talia was waiting for him alone, in what Cora whispered conspiratorially was her office. Peter led him inside and then shut the door in Laura’s face when she tried to follow. Talia gave him a stern look but made no comment. She silently gestured for Stiles to have a seat, and he did. This was Talia’s show, after all. He was just here to present an idea.

“Peter tells me you have some ideas about how to run my pack,” Talia said softly, raising an eyebrow. She didn’t miss the angry look Stiles gave Peter before he turned his attention back to her.

“Absolutely not. I asked Peter what your policy was on offering the bite to people in need. I know a few people who would benefit from it, and who I believe would fit in well with your pack. I wouldn’t have even mentioned it if they stood a chance any other way,” he told her.

“It’s easy to forget that you’re not a child, until you open your mouth,” Peter stated in an offhand way, very obviously trying not to smile.

“Hush, Peter,” Talia told him, giving him a look that clearly said she’d kick him out if he continued. He mimed zipping his lips, grinning.

“Look, I’m not going to lie. Almost everyone on my list was in my old pack. Not the one that abandoned me, but the one that your son painstakingly put together. They were all people who needed the help. One was severely abused by his own father. One had severe epilepsy that nearly killed her. One was suicidal and all alone, unable to cope by himself. And he brought all of them together, saved their lives, and gave them a home. I want to do that again, but sooner this time. I want to save them before they really need to be saved,” Stiles told them.

Talia considered him for a long time before speaking again. “You said almost everyone. Who are you leaving out?”

He took a deep breath before he answered her, steadying himself before he spoke the words. “My mother. She doesn’t look it right now, but she’s sick. Within a few months, the doctors will find it. And by the time they give her a diagnosis, it’ll be too late. If you offered her the bite now, it would save her life.”

“I see,” Talia said softly. Her eyes had softened considerably, and Stiles would have been offended by the way she was reacting if it didn’t mean what he thought it might. “I think I understand, now.”

“You do?” Stiles asked, sitting forward in his chair.

“I can see how each person you’ve presented might be improved by joining my pack. Saving lives is an honorable reason to offer the bite to someone. But I’m not certain I can see the benefit to my pack,” she told him. “I understand why you want this life for them. I want to help you, but I will not put my pack at risk.”

And there was the rage that he’d successfully managed to push back up until this point. He quite literally saw red as she finished speaking, and he didn’t even think before he opened his mouth to reply. _”How dare you._ Isaac is the most loyal beta you could ever ask for. If he cares about something, he would fight for it _to the death._ Erica is a fierce fighter and an even fiercer friend. Boyd would be the smartest beta you could hope for, and he’d offer support and loyalty to everyone in the pack without question. And my mother-“ he stopped, taking a deep breath to try to calm down. “My mother would follow you to her very death if it meant protecting the people that she loves. She wouldn’t even hesitate to take a bullet for you if she cared about you. But you know all of that, because you’re friends with her. You’re denying some of the best people in this world their freedom- their salvation!- because you’re scared of what it might do to your pack, but you’re not even taking into account the fact that every single one of them would rather die than hurt an innocent person!”

“You’ve forgotten to include yourself,” Peter pointed out mildly. “Don’t you want the bite as well?”

“You offered it to me once,” Stiles told him, giving the man his full attention. “And I’ll tell you the same thing now that I told you back then- I don’t want it. I have never wanted it. Even when I helped my best friend learn control, even when I watched everyone around me get strong and superpowered, I never once wished that it could be me. I don’t want to change who I am; I’m fine the way that I am. But all of them need it, and sometimes it seems like I’m the only one looking out for them. Is it wrong to want better for them?”

“Let us say, for a moment, that I agree to offer the bite to these people you’ve chosen. Would they accept it? What is the likelihood that it would take?” Talia asked, drawing attention back to herself. She looked thoughtful, which was better than angry or offended.

“It took every other time. If it meant getting away from his father, Isaac would do anything. Erica and Boyd have nothing to lose, so I know they’ll agree. And my mother… if it’s explained right, I know she’ll agree. But she’s the only one I’m not certain of. She wasn’t bitten in my timeline. If you offer it to her, I don’t know what will happen,” Stiles admitted.

“These are all important things to consider,” Talia told him. “Offering the bite isn’t done lightly. There are a lot of politics involved. In a normal situation, it would involve speaking with all of their parents. I assume the first three are minors, correct?”

“Yes,” Stiles agreed.

“I would speak with their parents and explain what all of this would mean for them and their children. Once they agreed to it, I would then explain the same risks and benefits to the children themselves. If they agreed, I would give them the gift of the bite,” Talia explained. “In the case of Isaac, I believe the first step should be gaining custody. I’m close personal friends with a few lawyers who would be more than happy to assist me with this. As for Erica and Boyd, I believe it would be best to begin with their parents, as tradition dictates.”

“And my mother?” Stiles asked, watching her with an intensity that seemed to unnerve her.

“I would like nothing more than to save my friend, Stiles,” she sighed. “But if Claudia is already sick, I’m not sure that offering her the bite is a good idea. It could kill her faster than her illness would.”

“It won’t,” Stiles protested. “It can’t. I… I can’t watch her die again, Talia.”

Peter was gaping at him, but Talia didn’t even flinch at the use of her name. “I will speak to her about it. I’ll offer it as a suggestion. If she agrees after hearing about what all it would be risking, I will give it to her. But I wouldn’t hold my breath. If she thinks it will take away any time with you, I don’t believe she’ll do it.”

“All I’m asking is that you try,” Stiles said softly, looking down. He had to hope that his mother would accept it. He just knew that if she did, it would take. It would save her life.

“Now, if that’s all you had to discuss with me, I do have one matter to discuss with you,” Talia told him, smiling slightly. “Though you’ve stated you don’t want the bite, I do consider you pack. And we’re going to be having a pack gathering this coming week, to celebrate the moon.”

“I’d be happy to come,” Stiles assured her, grinning. She raised an eyebrow, amusement dancing in her eyes. “Laura may have mentioned it in passing.”

“STILES!”


	8. Chapter Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Stiles and Derek finally have a talk.

Life started to slip into a pattern for Stiles. He spent mornings having breakfast with his mother (and occasionally his father) before she drove him to school. He’d eat lunch with his pack, reveling in the feeling of belonging again. (He could almost forget that he’d lost them all. Almost.) Then after school, he’d catch a ride with any combination of Hales back to their house, where he would read through their books and etch runes into the outside of their house for different types of protection.

The first day he worked alone. He found runes he’d never even heard of in the books at the Hale house. With those, he was able to string together a combination that might protect from any kind of attack the Argents would throw at them. He spent extra time reading up on fire protection, just in case. When he went outside to work, they all left him to it. None of them had any kind of rune knowledge, with the possible exception of Peter. And Peter was avoiding Stiles.

Stiles only spent about an hour outside before he gave up that first day and requested that Talia drive him home. She lingered to speak with Claudia for a while, but Stiles was pretty sure she hadn’t mentioned anything about what they were much less offered her the bite. Stiles knew that when it happened, his mother would sit him down to discuss it with him first. That was the kind of person she’d always been. He was remembering more about her every single day. Even if he couldn’t have this permanently, he’d cherish this extra time when he returned to his own.

The second day, Stiles had only been in the Hale library for about twenty minutes before he was joined by Derek. He was quiet at first, picking up a book and flipping through it like that was the reason he’d sat down to begin with. Unfortunately for him, Stiles knew him better than that. It didn’t take long for Derek to get bored enough to speak up.

“So… are we friends?” he asked suddenly, turning his eyes to Stiles. Stiles glanced up at him and then back down to his book.

“Uh- yeah,” he answered. He winced, because he knew that Derek would catch the lie immediately. “Okay, fine, let’s do this. No, Derek, you and I have never really been friends. We’re pack, to the point that you followed me when my alpha ditched me. But we have more of a… frenemies vibe.”

“A what?” Derek asked, wrinkling his eyebrows. Stiles almost laughed.

“We helped each other when it was necessary, but I get on your nerves and you like to slam me into things. That’s just the way it’s always been,” he explained.

“I slam you into things?” Derek asked, looking sorry that he’d initiated the conversation to begin with. “And you just let me?”

“Not exactly. I’m human, Derek. It’s not like I could stop you,” he sighed. “If it makes you feel any better, it had been months since our last violent encounter. I think we were on our way to actually being friends before I pulled this stunt.”

“I wouldn’t have wanted you to save my family?” Derek asked.

“Not at the risk of myself,” he shrugged. “You’re oddly noble in the future. Or maybe you won’t be now? Who knows.”

“You’re very nonchalant about all of this,” Derek pointed out. “You came back in time to save us from a house fire, but you’re warding our house against every possible catastrophe known to man. We looked them all up after you left yesterday. Well, the ones Peter didn’t recognize. And there are a few that we think you made up just for us! You don’t seem to care whether or not you make it back to your own time as long as you save as many people as you can. Why?”

“Why do I want to save you all?” Stiles clarified. He ran a hand through his hair, considering how he wanted to answer.

“We’ve been through a lot together, Derek, even if we didn’t like each other. You’ve saved my life more than I can count, and I’ve saved yours a few times. Like the time I held you up in a pool for two hours because you were paralyzed- but that probably won’t be happening now. Thank god. Off track, sorry… You lost a lot of things. More than I did, and I felt like I was being crushed under my losses. I can’t imagine how you felt, Derek. And even Peter… Look, I did this because even if I can only give you one person back, it’s worth it. You deserve to be happy.”

“And you said we’re not friends?” Derek raised his eyebrows, a small smile playing on his lips. “It sounds like we could have been more.”

Stiles was completely sure his face was bright red. “Wha- no! Dude, did you miss the part about me being slammed into things? Like my steering wheel!”

“Ever heard of pulling pigtails?” Derek asked casually, grinning. Stiles really didn’t know how to react. Derek Hale was _teasing_ him. Actual, honest to god, joking with him. He was stunned.

“Dude, you’re killing me here. This is so weird, you don’t even know,” he told him.

“What? Do I not… what am I like, in the future?” Derek asked suddenly.

“We’re not opening that can of worms,” Stiles sighed. “I’ve already said too much. As much as I want to change the future, there are some things that I don’t think will be helpful.”

“You’ll tell us about our deaths, but not about our personalities?” Derek asked pointedly.

“Let’s put it this way; you lost your entire family very quickly. Peter was in the hospital, catatonic, for a couple of years. You and Laura left for New York, and stayed there for a few years. Then Laura came back to investigate something, and you lost her too. You were alone, Derek. You had no pack, and no clue what you were up against. You found some teenager who’d been bitten by a rogue alpha, and he didn’t want to listen to a word you said because he didn’t trust you. Then you had me- the human who wanted no part of your ‘the bite is a gift’ bullshit and trained that teenager myself. Somehow, you beat the rogue alpha and became an alpha yourself. You bit a bunch of teenagers who needed a family as much as you did, and you trained them up. For a while, everything was great. And then you lost all of your betas to a rogue pack and hunters, and you were alone again. This stupid teenager, who didn’t even want to be a beta to begin with, ascended to True Alpha and started a pack of his own. We were both in it, for a while. Then I started learning how to use my spark, he kicked me out of his pack, and you followed me.”

“That… all of that really happened?” his voice was hushed, like he couldn’t bear to speak the words out loud.

“I mean, yeah. With a lot more things in between, but yeah,” Stiles confirmed. “And if that doesn’t tell you what kind of person you were, I can’t help you.”

“It tells me more than you anticipated, I think,” Derek told him. He couldn’t quite meet Stiles’ eyes anymore. “Thank you.”

“Yeah, sure,” Stiles sighed. He turned back to his book for a while, sketching out runes absently. When he had a few that he knew he wanted to use, he stood to go outside. He wasn’t really surprised when Derek followed him out.

They worked together in silence for a while. Derek held the paper with Stiles’ sketches on it while Stiles himself etched them around all of the doors and windows, imbuing them with tiny amounts of magic to make them active. When they reached the back of the house, Derek finally found his voice again.

“I think I know why I followed you,” he admitted softly. Stiles glanced over at him, his hand hovering inches away from the window frame.

“Oh?” he asked, not sure he really wanted to know the answer.

“Yeah,” Derek confirmed. “If all of what you told me is true, I would have felt… so alone. I can’t imagine losing my family, Stiles. I can’t imagine living even one day without them. So while you might have driven me crazy, I don’t think I could have handled losing you, too. When that stupid teenager kicked you out of his pack, I would have followed you because you _were_ my pack.”

“You didn’t even really like me,” Stiles pointed out hoarsely.

“I don’t believe that. If I like you right now, there’s no way I don’t like you in the future,” Derek assured him. They were both grinning like loons when they went back to carving runes.


	9. Chapter Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Hale pack gathering takes place- and Stiles makes a new enemy.

Claudia sat him down Saturday morning to tell him about Talia’s offer. She made special chocolate chip pancakes for him before she woke him up, smiling sadly at him the whole time he got his plate together. Finally, when he was eating, she started talking.

“You’re so brave, you know? I always knew you’d grow up to be the most amazing person. Having confirmation just makes me so proud of you,” she told him, sitting back in her chair. Stiles immediately stiffened. “I’m sorry that you had to hide all of this from us.”

“Mom-“ he started, ready to deny everything. She shook her had sadly.

“It’s okay, Mieczyslaw. You don’t have to lie to me anymore. I should have known immediately that you were not yourself,” she sighed. “Talia has told me everything, sweetheart. And she’s offered me her gift.”

“And you’ll take it, right?” Stiles asked, clenching his hands into fists in anticipation. 

“I have to discuss it with your father, still, but… if it means spending more time with you, there’s no way I could turn it down,” Claudia confirmed. “She explained the risks, but she also told me about… my illness. I haven’t felt right for a few weeks now. I was just telling your father a few days ago that I was going to make a doctor’s appointment. Now I won’t need to.”

“Mom, I just… I want you to be okay,” he said softly. “I don’t want to lose you.”

“It sounds like you did once, and I’m very sorry for that. I don’t intend to make you lose anyone a second time, and I’m certain your father will agree,” she assured him. 

“So… you know about where I’m from,” Stiles said softly, unable to meet her gaze. He saw her nod out of the corner of his eye. “And you know what I’ve done.”

“Talia didn’t give me details other than that you came back to save her family from a terrible tragedy. I don’t need to know more than that. I’m so proud of you,” she replied.

“I wasn’t… I’m not entirely a good person,” he told her.

“If you weren’t a good person, you wouldn’t be here right now,” she told him. “Of that, I am completely certain. I know my son.”

There was nothing that Stiles could say to that. Claudia seemed content to let the conversation drop, and Stiles ate the rest of his pancakes in silence. When he placed his plate in the sink, his mother placed a gentle hand on his arm. It was completely natural for him to hug her tightly.

“I plan to take you to Talia’s gathering tonight,” she told him softly. “I will give her my answer then. We’ll leave here right after your father leaves for his second shift.”

Ordinarily, Stiles would have called Scott to come have some bro time before he had to leave. Today, though, Stiles was too emotional to hide his secrets from Scott. Instead, he pulled out his phone to text Derek. They’d been talking a lot more since their heart to heart.

_ To: Derek-  _ Sounds like I’ll be coming early tonight. 

_ From: Derek-  _ Oh great. I’ve got a new book for you to try.

_ To: Derek-  _ Is it as lame as the last one? Because seriously, I’ve read better children’s books.

_ From: Derek-  _ Hey, _Eragon_ is really good! You’re just picky.

_ To: Derek-  _ That is a blatant lie. I don’t have to hear your heartbeat to know that. But I’ll give this new book a try.

_ From: Derek-  _ Thank you.

What time will you be here?

_ To: Derek-  _ My dad leaves at three, and Mom said we’ll be going right after him. So, no later than four.

_ From: Derek _ \- Great. I love my family, but they’re a lot to handle alone. Laura has been way too bouncy today.

_ To: Derek-  _ I’m telling her you said that.

_ From: Derek-  _ Don’t you dare! She’ll skin me alive.

_ To: Derek-  _ Your fear of her is endlessly amusing.

_ From: Derek-  _ It’s way easier to remember that you’re not actually 11 when we’re texting.

_ To: Derek-  _ Thanks? I think.

_ From: Derek-  _ It was a compliment.

_ To: Derek-  _ Well, thank you, then.

_ From: Derek-  _ You’re welcome. 

Stiles was practically vibrating in his seat as they pulled up to the Hale house that afternoon. There were a lot more cars than usual, which just confirmed that the extended family was here. It was the full moon (and the eclipse) that night, and Stiles couldn’t wait to run with his favorite wolves. It was too bad that the rest of his pack couldn’t join them yet. Talia had promised, and Stiles knew she was doing this the right way. He could be patient.

Laura was at his door as he was pushing it open, and she crushed him into a hug. “You’re here! We’ve been waiting for you.”

“You have?” Stiles asked, confused. “But the barbeque wasn’t even supposed to start until six.”

“Not for that!” she giggled. She grabbed his hand and tugged him towards the backyard, completely ignoring his mother. Claudia, for her part, just watched in amusement and made no move to stop them. Laura didn’t release his arm until they were surrounded by the younger generation of the Hale family. Cora was more relaxed than he’d ever seen her, leaning heavily against a laughing Faye. Caden was smiling fondly at both of them, clearly having been the one to have caused the laughter. Derek was watching Laura and Stiles approach, something unreadable in his eyes. Laura immediately released his arm when they were in range of Derek, who wrapped an arm around Stiles’ shoulder casually.

“That took you forever,” Derek told him softly. Stiles grinned, rolling his eyes. 

“I’m exactly when I said I would be,” he pointed out.

“Yeah, but he’s been pouting for hours!” Cora informed him, her eyes glinting. “He wouldn’t shut up about you coming over tonight. I didn’t even know you guys tolerated each other, and now he’s _pining.”_

“I am not,” he growled, his arm tightening around Stiles. If he’d considered pulling away before, he couldn’t now. Not that he wanted to.

“Oh, sweetie,” Laura sighed. She leaned against Caden, and he wrapped an arm around her. Stiles had almost forgotten how tactile wolves could be. Caden was clearly very used to his siblings and cousin, though. He even had a smile for Stiles, though it was more reserved.

“What did I miss?” Stiles asked, leaning more fully against Derek. It seemed to calm him down. 

“Nothing,” Faye assured him. “Dad hasn’t even brought out the drinks yet. Things get more fun when the adults start drinking.”

Across the lawn, Stiles could see all of the adults gathered in a loose circle. They were talking and laughing, but none of them had drinks in their hands yet. He’d never been told about pack gatherings, beyond that they had happened. Peter hadn’t given him any warnings about the rest of his family. Stiles could guess which one was their father, based on appearance and general distance. He was the man who was standing the absolute furthest from Talia that he could get. Stiles briefly wondered why he’d bothered to show up at all.

As Stiles watched, the man seemed to catch a scent on the breeze. He froze in place, his eyes wandering over the entire backyard as he tried to locate whatever it was that he’d smelled. Stiles recognized the action from all of the times that Peter had done it. Stiles did not expect the man to focus on _Stiles_ of all people. His eyes flashed as he stalked forward, grabbing Stiles by the neck when he was close enough. Derek reacted immediately with a loud growl and claws digging into his grandfather’s arm. 

“Who are you? Why are you here?” the older Hale demanded. “You _reek_ of magic!”

Stiles was too busy choking to be able to answer, but Talia wasted no time in reacting. “ **Let him go.** ” The alpha command was unmistakable, and the man dropped him instantly. Stiles crumpled to the ground, coughing and shaking. Derek was there immediately, helping him up and shielding him from view. “You cannot assault a guest in my home! Stiles is on his way to becoming a very prominent member of this pack, and you insult him by implying otherwise.”

“This boy cannot join our pack!” the older Hale insisted. It took Stiles a few seconds longer to remember his name. _Lionel Hale_. 

“You no longer have any control over who joins this pack,” Talia informed him coolly. She flashed her red eyes at him, and he tilted his head in submission. He didn’t looked pleased to be doing so.

“Is it no longer my pack?” Lionel demanded, his hands clenched tightly into fists. “Or is it just that we are no longer allowed to voice our opinions before new members are added?”

“Your opinion has been heard and ignored,” Talia informed him. “I am the alpha, whether you like it or not. If I believe someone will be an asset to our family, I will do all that I can to welcome them into the pack. Mieczyslaw Stiliniski has more than earned his place among us, and his mother will be joining our ranks as a newly bitten beta in the coming weeks. Apologize.”

Lionel eyed Stiles with so much hatred that it shook him to his very core. He’d never even met this man before, but he was already so hated. “I will not,” Lionel stated coldly. “This magic user does not belong here. He is beneath us- beneath _me_.”

Derek’s arm tightened almost painfully around Stiles, and he saw out of the corner of his eyes and Cora and Laura were taking position on either side of him. Peter was holding his mother back from joining the fray, and he could see how angry and upset she was. In the face of all of this, though, no rage was stronger than alpha Talia Hale’s. 

“For years, you’ve believed that your own alpha- your own daughter- is beneath you, as well. I’ve tolerated your judgement and heard your opinions for decades. I will do so no longer. Lionel Hale, I banish you from my pack. You no longer have a place with us. _You_ are beneath _us_. Remove yourself from my town or I will have you removed,” she told him. Her voice was steady, her eyes viciously hard. She was every bit the strong alpha that Stiles had been told about. He was proud to be considered in her pack.

“You’ll regret this,” Lionel spat. His eyes flashed, signaling his acceptance of her banishment. “There is a reason that we chose Milo to become the alpha, Talia. He had what it takes, and you prove every single day that you do not.”

“Milo believed in me. Mother believed in me. You were alone in your belief that I wasn’t good enough. What I have proven is that you have always been wrong about me. Now _leave_ ,” she replied. She flashed her own eyes at him, and Stiles watched as the man stalked away. 

The tension didn’t fade when he was out of sight. If anything, it seemed to get even worse. Talia turned to her children, checking them over with her eyes before she spoke. “Did Stiles do anything at all to warrant that reaction?”

“No,” Laura assured her. “He was looking around the yard. Grandpa just… attacked.”

“He smelled me,” Stiles sighed. “I was watching the group of adults, and I saw when he caught my scent. I think he could smell my magic. I assume that scent has just gotten stronger the more that I use it? You guys are used to it now, but to a stranger, I must smell pretty dangerous.”

“That’s no excuse!” Derek snarled. “We don’t attack our own.”

“But he didn’t know that I’m on my way to being pack,” Stiles reminded him. “I’m a stranger to him. He didn’t even know my name. He just knew that I’m a magic user who is hanging on his grandchildren.”

“Don’t make excuses for him,” Talia told him gently. “He always looks for an excuse to start something while he’s here. It’s why we don’t usually invite him. He knew better than to attack a guest in my home, even if he suspected you had ill intent. And I strongly believe that he knew you were innocent.”

“Should we be worried about what he’ll do?” Cora asked softly. She already looked worried to Stiles, so he slipped an arm across her shoulders comfortingly. One of the best things about befriending so many wolves was that Stiles knew how to calm them down if it became necessary. Cora immediately leaned into him, relaxing.

“No,” Talia replied. “He won’t retaliate. He knows that we are a strong pack.”

Stiles had a sneaking suspicion that this would come back to bite them later. He’d seen the look in Lionel’s eyes when he’d grabbed him. He saw the tension and anger when Talia banished him. And from his own experience, he knew how dangerous omegas could be. Lionel was an outcast now- no pack would accept him when they heard of what he’d done to his own alpha. And Stiles had a sneaking suspicion that Lionel had no intention of leaving Beacon Hills just yet. That made him more dangerous than any of the Hales seemed to realize. 

The gathering continued as if nothing had happened after that. Nobody in the Hale pack seemed particularly upset to see Lionel go. That made Stiles even more certain that something very bad was going to happen. Not today, of course. But Stiles would be keeping his eyes open, waiting and watching. He’d be there to prevent whatever revenge would come. It was a silent promise that he made to Talia. He repeated it to himself as he watched Cora and Derek play-wrestle over the last burger. He felt more sure of himself as he watched Peter and Laura playfully argue over pack politics while Talia watched proudly. And he knew that he wouldn’t fail as he watched Talia slip an arm around Claudia and lead her into the house to finally welcome her into the pack.

And that night, as he slept in one of the guest rooms while Talia monitored his mother’s transition after the bite, he knew he’d made the right choice in coming back to save them all. He would do it, no matter what that would mean for himself. He was too emotionally invested to fail. 


	10. Chapter Ten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More dreams for Stiles.

_ The Present _

Peter Hale wasn’t an idiot. People tended to underestimate him because of choices he’d made in the past (Derek) or character flaws that he couldn’t control (Scott), but that didn’t make him an idiot. He knew things that most people wouldn’t even dream to think about, much less research. He’d contributed more than half of the information in the current beastiary- not that he had access to it. Though he couldn’t use magic, he knew more runes than the Druid himself. And even though he’d never traveled through time, he knew more about how it worked than a seasoned time traveler ever could.

When he went to check on Stiles, the night of his ritual, he knew that he wouldn’t find him. There was no question of whether or not he’d successfully complete the ritual. Peter knew that the boy would make it back to the past with no trouble at all. He wasn’t pure of heart, but he had the purest of intentions, and that’s what mattered. He wasn’t worried when he didn’t find Stiles at the Nemeton. 

He was worried, however, when he went back to the vet’s office to find it completely vacant. The windows were boarded over and there was a condemned notice posted to the door. The building that held Derek’s loft was gone, as well. In it’s place was a parking lot. The final straw was the McCall house. It was still standing, but there was a ‘for sale’ sign in the front lawn. He knocked on the door.

“Peter, I don’t know what you’re doing here, but you need to leave,” Melissa spat, nearly slamming the door in his face. He caught it just in time.

“I need to speak to your son,” Peter said calmly. “I think something is very wrong.”

“My- what are you talking about?” Melissa gaped at him, tears filling her eyes. “He’s gone. You know that.”

This time, Peter let the door slam in his face. He stood very still on her front porch for a few extra seconds, trying his hardest to think of a better explanation than…

“Oh, Stiles… what have you _done_?”

_ 9 Years Ago… _

Stiles sat bolt upright in his bed, gasping for breath. He clutched at the sheets around him, struggling to think through his panic. Scott was _gone_ , Derek was seemingly missing, Deaton was… dead? Somewhere down the line, he’d done something wrong. He needed to fix it. But how do you fix something if you don’t know what you broke?

His mother had taken to being a werewolf like she was born for it. Stiles’ father had been going with her to all of her training sessions with Talia, and Talia had started giving Stiles progress reports when he showed up after school. It had been three weeks since the disastrous pack gathering, and Stiles had been extremely vigilant. He’d added extra runes to prevent intruders with malicious intent. He’d even gone out into the preserve with various Hale siblings and carved protection runes into some of the trees. He’d poured more of his energy into protecting the Hales than he’d ever even known he’d had. Nothing had happened yet.

Every night, he had a new dream about things that could go wrong, or warnings about what might be coming. He hadn’t had more than four hours of sleep in a night since he’d arrived in this time. He could see the worry in everyone’s eyes, but he was stubborn. He wasn’t going to admit that he had a problem until he had his solution. 

This dream, though… somehow, he knew that it was real. Peter really had gone to check on him, only to discover that he’d changed things for the worst. Where was Derek? Was he… Stiles couldn’t even consider that. And Scott was gone? Did that mean dead, or missing? _What had he gotten wrong?!_

“Stiles?” his father asked from the doorway. He waited until Stiles looked at him to cross the room, settling onto the edge of the bed in front of him. “Son, what’s wrong?”

“I did something wrong,” Stiles gasped out. So, still having a panic attack.

“How do you know?” his father asked patiently.

“I saw,” he admitted hoarsely. “Everything was wrong. I don’t know what I did.”

“Do you want to know what you did from my perspective?” his father asked. He smiled gently when Stiles nodded. “You saved your mother’s life. You brought a family closer together, and are helping them stay safe. You sacrificed your own wellbeing to make sure that these people who are practically strangers will survive a tragedy that they couldn’t get through on their own. You’re giving hope to other kids who may or may not make it on their own without this help. You’re helping a grown adult believe in herself as a leader when she used to have doubts. You’re pulling a teenager out of the shell he grew after his own tragedy, making him smile and laugh again.”

“Yeah, but…” Stiles trailed off, finally breathing normally again.

“No, let me finish. You’re saving all of the people you care about at great sacrifice to yourself. That makes you stronger and braver than anyone I’ve ever met before. And you’re my son. I’ve never been so proud in my entire life, and I know your mother agrees. So if you’ve made a mistake, it’s nothing that can’t be fixed,” his father told him. 

Stiles actually considered that for a few moments before nodding again. He was right. Now that he knew a mistake had been made, he could fix it. He’d have to be more careful- maybe dedicate some time to other things. He was still a kid, after all. He should spend some time on his friendships and pay more attention to things that weren’t magical runes.

“Thank you,” he said softly. His father ruffled his hair with a smile.

“You don’t have to thank me. This is my job as your dad,” he replied. “Now, get some sleep. You look like you really need it. I’ll call in the morning and tell them you’re sick. We’re all going to stay home and do relaxing things tomorrow.”

Once he was alone, Stiles thought through all of the things his father had mentioned. The more he thought about it, the more he realized he’d been doing this the wrong way. Focusing all of his attention on possible attacks instead of what he knew or had observed had left him exhausted and underprepared. He could fix that. He’d take the day with his family, and then go back to getting his pack together. Once that was accomplished, he just _knew_ they could get through anything. He was smiling as he drifted off to sleep.

_ Lionel Hale stepped into the abandoned warehouse, looking around warily. It was too dark for a human to see anything, but the werewolf had no trouble locating the two hunters who were waiting for him. He could also see the many traps laid out between them. _

_ “Do you think I’m a fool?” he called out, smirking to himself. _

_ “We have to be sure you’re genuinely offering help,” the man called back. Lionel could smell the anticipation and slight tang of fear in the air between them, and it set him on edge. “After all, we can’t risk you turning your back on us in the crucial moment.” _

_ “My pack has turned their back on me. I have no one to turn to. There is nobody to sway me from your side,” Lionel told them, crossing his arms. “But I have the information you need to be successful.” _

_ “Perfect,” the woman said softly. “An omega with a grudge. Dad, this is perfect.” _

_ “Hush,” the man reprimanded.  _

_ “Do we have an agreement?” Lionel called out, growing impatient. “I would like to leave before they catch my scent. We can’t waste time here.” _

_ “We have an agreement. Your help in exchange for revenge against your former alpha,” Gerard Argent replied. _

_ “I’ll be waiting at the agreed upon location,” Lionel promised, the smirk back on his face. “They’ll never know what hit them.” _

_ “No, they really won’t,” Kate snickered. “Perfect.” _


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The passing of time, a pack meeting, and an uncomfortable realization.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry this took so long! I lost muse for a while, but it's coming back to me.

As soon as it was obvious that Claudia’s transformation had taken, Talia had started the process of gaining custody of Isaac. She didn’t specifically tell Stiles that she was doing it, but the Hales were not a subtle family. Peter was still avoiding him, but Derek, Cora, and Laura all spent as much time with Stiles as they could. Even Faye had mentioned in passing that they’d possibly be adding a new member to their family. 

School was the same as it had always been. Stiles sat with his pack every day, soaking in the happiness and innocence of all of it, wishing that it never had to change. He wondered all the time whether or not he’d have to lose them all over again. He wasn’t sure he could handle that. He’d barely managed the first time.

After school, he and his mother would spend hours at the Hale House. Claudia would train with Talia while Stiles researched and then carved runes into the surrounding woods. It never felt like enough. After the talk with his father, though, he’d come to realize that all he could do was his best. There wasn’t anything he could change while they were stuck in this rut.

It all came to a head a month after the gathering. Lionel Hale was spotted in town, wandering the aisles of the grocery store. Caden was the one who spotted him. Lionel hadn’t said a word to Caden, but he’d definitely seen him and knew that he’d been spotted. A normal (sane) person would have realized they’d been caught and retreated… but not Lionel Hale.

Two days later, he was eating lunch alone in the diner, making the entire staff uncomfortable- especially Laura Hale. The only reason she didn’t approach him to ask him to leave was that her boss told her she wasn’t allowed to. ( _“Leave your family issues at the door, Hale. He’s a paying customer, just like everyone else. If he harasses you, we’ll boot him. Otherwise, let him be.”_ ) Talia showed up two minutes after he’d left, and she was unable to track him.

The very next day, he was sitting in the stands watching the basketball team practice. Derek had to leave practice to keep himself under control. Stiles heard about that one before any of the Hales, because Derek had gone straight to _him_ to make sure he was okay. He’d been in Deaton’s office, picking up a few books that the Hales didn’t have. Deaton had kicked them both out, and they’d gone back to the Hale house to tell Talia about it together.

Stiles could tell that Talia was at the end of her rope the next week, after six more sightings of her father were reported to her by various members of her pack. That included Claudia, unfortunately, who’d run into him outside of the preschool that she was currently working for. That was the day that Talia called a pack meeting.

“Let me begin by saying that all of you are handling this very well, and I appreciate that greatly. I’m sorry that you have to handle it at all,” she sighed, looking around the room to catch everyone’s eyes. She offered Stiles a sad smile before moving her gaze elsewhere. “Lionel is not a threat to any wolf in this room. As a newly outcasted omega, he has far less strength or speed that any of you. The humans would be less lucky if he chose to attack. With that in mind, I would like to institute… the buddy system, if you will. Each human should be accompanied by a wolf at all times outside of their homes.”

“Do you really think that will help?” Peter asked, crossing his arms. It’s the first time he’d been in a room with Stiles willingly in weeks, and he was avoiding even looking in his direction.

“I think that it can’t hurt. At this point, what doesn’t hurt us can only make us stronger,” Talia informed him tightly. “It offers at least a little bit of protection to those who may not have it otherwise. Now, I know that we’ve got several potential members who are still very young. They are not pack yet, but they’ve spent enough time around us that they probably _smell_ like pack.”

“They do,” Cora confirmed, frowning. “I’d never even considered that when I started inviting them around and spending time with them. Did I put my friends in danger?”

“No,” Talia told her softly. “Quite the opposite. To be friends with a pack of wolves is to have the greatest protection known to man. We can and will keep them safe. It will just be tricky. I was hoping someone would have ideas.”

“Actually, I think I can help. But it would involve getting them all into a room and telling them the secret before they’re offered the bite. Is that a thing you’re willing to do?” Stiles asked, meeting her eyes evenly.

“I’m not certain that’s a good idea,” Talia hesitated, frowning.

“I could just tell them _my_ secret, but it’ll lead to a lot of questions that I won’t be able to answer. I don’t think that will make anyone happy, and they might not agree to my protection that way.”

“But you believe that telling them our secret will get them to agree?” Talia asked. She seemed to be considering it, which was more than Stiles had expected.

“If Mieczyslaw trusts these people, then so do I. He is a remarkably good judge of character, and he has lived through this once before,” Claudia chimed in quietly. She laid her hand on Stiles’ shoulder with a small smile. “I think we should tell them.”

“We don’t have to offer them the bite, now or later, if you don’t want to. But if they’re possibly in danger for hanging around a pack, shouldn’t they know _why_ they need the protection? I have runes specifically for protection like this, and they’re designed to work on humans. I thought maybe I might need to protect… someone else, in the future. I’m certainly not opposed to using them early,” Stiles added.

“Alright. If anyone is strongly opposed to this plan of action, speak now,” Talia stated, her gaze roaming the room again. Nobody spoke up. “Stiles, speak with your friends tomorrow at school. Invite them here for dinner tomorrow, and we’ll share with them then.”

“Thank you,” Stiles told her, smiling in relief. He was getting tired of having to come up with excuses, and this would make _all_ of their lives easier in the long run. He could only hope Scott wouldn’t try to go for the bite this time around. For how much he hadn’t wanted it the first time… Stiles had seen how much he’d ended up coveting the bite. 

As soon as Talia’s attention had slipped from Stiles to start planning an offensive should Lionel choose to attack the pack, Stiles felt Derek’s hand slip into his. They held hands at an almost awkward angle, so that nobody would notice them doing it. Stiles was completely sure that his face was flushed, but nobody was looking at him, so he did nothing to try to dissuade Derek. His thumb was brushing across the back of Stiles’ hand soothingly, and Stiles found himself relaxing despite the stressful situation they’d all found themselves in. 

When Talia called an end to the meeting, Derek released his hand. Rather than walk away, though, he caught Stiles’ eye in a silent plea that they sneak off to talk. It was surprisingly easy to read Derek when he wasn’t trying to pretend he didn’t have emotions. Stiles really liked spending time with him like this. So instead of blowing him off or pretending that he hadn’t understood, he gave a small nod and turned to his mother.

“Is it okay if I stay here tonight? I’ll feel better if I can read just a little more, and it isn’t safe to take the books out of here,” he asked her softly, making his eyes as big and innocent as he could. She’d never been fooled before, and he could tell she wasn’t now, but she was nodding.

“Yes, that’s fine. I wanted to speak with Talia before I leave, and I’ll just make sure she doesn’t mind an extra child for the night,” Claudia agreed with a smile. “But Stiles, I need you to remember that you’re still just eleven years old here, no matter how old you were in your time.”

“I know, Mom,” he said, his face now a bright shade of red. He’d never forgotten. Before he could think of anything more to say, she pressed a kiss to his forehead and walked away. Derek was at his shoulder immediately, hand on his arm and tugging him along.

“My room or the library?” Derek asked, steering him around the adults with ease. “I just want to talk.”

“Your room is fine,” Stiles told him, concentrating on not falling over as he was dragged along. He had the urge to laugh at Derek’s eagerness, but he fought it down. They’d almost made it up the stairs before Cora and Laura caught up.

“Where are we going?” Cora asked, looping her arm through Stiles’ free one. Laura did the same to Derek, her smile full of mischief. She knew exactly what she was doing, but Stiles was extremely glad for her. 

“ _We_ are not going anywhere,” Derek tried, shaking Laura’s arm off. Her smile immediately turned into a smirk and she expertly cut between Stiles and Derek to wrap an arm across Stiles’ shoulders. 

“Perfect! Because Cora and I were just talking about going for shakes at the diner. I’ve got a free meal lined up for training, and Mom gave us money to pay for the rest. What do you say?” Laura asked, turning her attention solely to Stiles.

Stiles met Derek’s gaze over his sister’s shoulder, and he could see that Derek wanted him to make an excuse and say no. But the more he stared into Derek’s eyes, the more he realized he couldn’t be alone with him right now. They’d been headed towards something for weeks, but his mother had a very important point. His body was _eleven years old_. Even if his mind was well over the legal age, people would still take issues with anything they might want to do. 

And Stiles knew that if he even thought about doing something, he’d be taking advantage of Derek. He and he alone knew what the future would bring. He knew all the right things to say to get under Derek’s skin. He’d always wanted to see if they could turn into something more, once the violence eventually stopped, but… this wasn’t the time or the place. He knew immediately that Laura had realized all the same things, and she was giving him a way out. 

“Yeah, sure. That sounds great. I’m starving. I’ll have to ask my mom for money on the way out,” he confirmed, tearing his eyes away from Derek’s hurt ones.

“No need. Mom has you covered. Come on, we’ll be your wolfy protectors today!” Laura grinned, turning them around and leading them back down the stairs. “And if you’re lucky, they’ll have fresh curly fries.”

As they climbed into the Camaro, Stiles couldn’t help but wonder just how badly he was going to mess all of this up before it was done. With any luck, Derek wouldn’t remember any of this when he made it back to his own time. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will include Stiles' pack meeting the entirety of the Hale pack and learning the truth about Stiles.


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles' pack is introduced to the Hale pack, and much is revealed.

Cora stuck with Stiles closely the entire next day at school. They were practically joined at the hip, to the point that Scott kept giving Stiles wounded looks and at one point pulled him aside to ask him if he was dating her.

(“Dude, why didn’t you tell me you were going to ask her out? Aren’t we… kinda young for girlfriends?” Scott asked, blushing darkly the whole time.

“Okay, first of all, Cora is _not_ my type, dude. Secondly, we’re in sixth grade. We can’t go on dates, but there’s no reason we can’t like people enough to call them girlfriend or boyfriend… right?” Stiles was oddly defensive about it, and it made him cringe. He was trying to talk himself _out_ of this, not into it.

“Uh… sure. Okay, maybe we’re old enough. But this is _Cora Hale_. She didn’t just suddenly decide you’re besties. What happened?” Scott asked, betrayal written all over his face. It was an expression that Stiles was intimately familiar with.

“She’s having a family crisis, is all. My family is really close to hers, you know? So she’s hanging around me because I know what’s going on,” Stiles confided. He was deliberately vague, but it seemed to satisfy Scott.

“So you’re not dating?” Scott confirmed.

“We’re not dating,” Stiles rolled his eyes. Cora was never going to let him live this down, he just knew it. And if Laura ever found out…)

Lunch was a quiet affair. Cora and Stiles had decided together that it would be better if she invited them all over to her own house instead of Stiles doing it. And Stiles immediately agreeing to go would make the others more likely to agree as well.

“So… I don’t know if Stiles mentioned it or not, but my family is kind of having some… trouble,” Cora started softly, immediately gaining the attention of everyone at the table. “We’re not _in_ trouble or anything, but… it’s nice to have friends around, you know?”

“Yeah,” Isaac agreed, just as quiet as Cora had been. Stiles had known he’d be the first to understand. By now, he had to know that Talia was trying to gain custody of him. Stiles had been willing to bet that Isaac would be the first to agree so he could meet his potential new family.

“And I know we didn’t really hang out before this year, but I consider all of you to be my best friends. So I was hoping that all of you would come over for dinner tonight,” Cora finished. Stiles squeezed her hand under the table, glad that Scott was paying no attention to him at all at the moment.

“I’ll be there,” Stiles told her, offering a small smile. It went unsaid that he probably would have been there even if she hadn’t invited him.

“I can come,” Scott confirmed quickly afterwards. Boyd nodded, not bothering to speak beyond that. Only Isaac and Erica looked nervous about it, and Stiles knew it wasn’t because they didn’t want to go.

“My mom already talked to your dad, Isaac,” Cora told him. That was true; Talia was supposed to have gotten into contact with Mr. Lahey as soon as school started to inform him that his son would be spending the evening at her house, and it would benefit him to not get involved. They all knew he’d agree when faced with Talia Hale.

“Um… then I’ll be there?” Isaac replied. It sounded more like a question than an answer, but it earned him smiles from the whole table. “I’ll be there.”

“I can ask my mom, but I think she wanted me to watch my little brothers tonight,” Erica said softly, looking down at the table.

“My mom can talk to yours, too,” Cora offered. Erica’s gaze shot up to Cora’s face, and whatever she found there must have satisfied her.

“No, that’s okay. I’ll be there, I promise,” Erica replied, her lips twitching into a small smile. Stiles knew how important promises were to Erica, and he had no doubt she’d find a way to be at the Hale house that night.

And now, hours later, the first car was pulling into the Hale driveway. Stiles knew without having to look that it would be Scott. Isaac had ridden over with Stiles and Cora, answering Laura’s questions as quietly and quickly as he could and never meeting any of their eyes. He’d been nearly silent since they got here, though he’d agreed to play games with Cora in the den. Stiles had been in the library up until an hour ago, reading up on new runes to calm himself. Nobody had interrupted him. Derek had not tried to get him alone since the last failed attempt.

Sure enough, Scott was on the other side of the door when Laura opened it, and he accepted the hug she offered with minimal surprise. He’d been over with Stiles enough to know that the Hales were all very tactile people. He just didn’t know why.

“Scott! I’m glad you’re here. Isaac and Cora have been playing Monopoly wrong, and we need to show them how it’s done,” Stiles told him, grabbing his arm and dragging him further into the house. Scott immediately relaxed, as he did every time Stiles did this.

“You cheat at Monopoly,” Scott pointed out helpfully.

“Exactly! We need to teach them how to do it without getting caught,” Stiles agreed.

“You get caught every time,” Scott reminded him, grinning now. He’d even started to lead the way to the den, where he knew the games were kept.

“Wow, rude,” Stiles scoffed, but he couldn’t contain his own smile. For once, he actually felt like a kid. It was nice.

Erica was the next to arrive, to everybody’s surprise (except for Stiles). The way Stiles saw it, his friends were all very predictable. Isaac had known that if he hadn’t gone with Stiles and Cora, he wouldn’t have gone at all. And since he was curious, he’d _had_ to be there. Scott, feeling mostly left out now that Stiles had other friends, felt that if he was too late to the party, Stiles wouldn’t spend any time with him. So he’d likely told his mother the wrong time intentionally to get there early and claim Stiles for himself. Erica, knowing that she’d have a hard time convincing her parents to let her leave the house due to her epilepsy, had also given them the wrong time. This was both to give them less time to change their minds, and to prove (to herself and her friends) that she would keep her word no matter what. Boyd, having none of those hang-ups, would show up exactly on time and cool as ever.

Once all four were situated, Stiles expected Talia to immediately start the _very important_ discussion that would change all of their lives. Instead, she sat them down at the table and fed them a dinner fit for a group of visiting nobles. Stiles was sure that none of his friends had ever had such good food, with the possible exception of Boyd. Stiles was pretty sure his mom was some kind of chef or baker… or something like that.

Dessert was just as extravagant, and _that_ is when Talia decided to begin their talk. “I know that I’ve met all of you in passing, but I admit to knowing very little about you other than that you are friends with my daughter and Stiles. I hope to change that tonight. I have some things to share with you that I think you will all find very interesting, and I hope to be able to answer each and every one of your questions before you leave here tonight.”

She turned her attention to Stiles, silently offering him the chance to go first. He took it, knowing that he’d just talk himself out of telling them if he didn’t go first. He could get some of it over with, at the very least. “Actually, there are some things I should tell you, too. I hope you guys don’t hate me for all of this, but I’ll understand if you want to avoid me for a while.”

“We’d never avoid you,” Scott assured him, his eyes wide with alarm.

“Thanks, buddy,” Stiles smiled. “So, first thing… I’m not eleven years old. Well… okay, so this body is. The Stiles you guys knew growing up _definitely_ is. But I kinda took his place for a while? I’m from the future.”

“Uh huh, sure. Pull the other one, Stilinski,” Erica giggled, watching him with amusement.

“Time travel isn’t possible,” Boyd agreed quietly. “We’d have heard about it by now if it was. That’s breaking… so many laws of physics.”

“Man, you’re going to hate what comes next,” Stiles grinned. He wasn’t the best at explaining things, but he could show off like nobody’s business. He raised his hand, rune already carefully drawn on his palm, and poured the tiniest drop of magic into it. Immediately, there was a spark and a small flame danced across his palm. Since the house (and it’s inhabitants) were warded to hell and back against fire, there was no chance of it spreading if he lost control.

“What the-“ Erica gasped, scrambling backwards. Stiles closed his hand over the flame, putting it out without any effort at all.

“I’m also kinda magical,” Stiles added, still grinning. “Which, I know, breaks physics completely. Seeing is believing, right?”

“How have you been hiding this? You’re _awful_ at keeping secrets!” Scott demanded, frowning intensely. He was not taking this well, Stiles was sad to note.

“You’re right, the Stiles you know was absolutely awful at keeping secrets. But where I’m from, if I didn’t learn how to keep some things to myself, I would have died. Painfully. Many times over,” Stiles told him sadly.

“So… time travel?” Isaac asked, interrupting the awkward silence before it could really set in. Stiles gave him a grateful smile.

“Yes! Time travel. See, in my time, a lot of things went _very_ wrong. A lot of people died. I was on my way to dying, if we’re being honest. Our best bet was me coming back to fix things, so… I came back to fix things. So far, as far as I know, it hasn’t worked,” Stiles told them all. He glanced at Talia as he said the last part, hoping she wouldn’t react badly. She looked unsurprised. “My hope is that once my goal is accomplished, I’ll go back to my own time and live happily ever after.”

“But what _is_ your goal?” Scott asked, crossing his arms. He was still upset. Stiles would have to talk to him privately at some point before he left.

“I believe this is where I come in,” Talia spoke up, glancing at Stiles to make sure she was right. He gave her a small nod. “You see, my family has also kept quite a large secret from Beacon Hills. We are werewolves, shifters that change our appearance as necessary to protect ourselves and our loved ones. In Stiles’ time, many of us are no longer… around. He came back in time to save our lives, so that we might save the town at a later date.”

“Okay, wait,” Isaac cut in, speaking up for the first time since lunch. He was frowning, looking almost angry. “I get that Stiles is magic, or whatever. I can almost believe that, because he’s always been weird. But you want us to believe that _werewolves_ are real? Are we living in a horror movie now?”

“Yes,” Stiles told him bluntly.

“Stiles,” Talia sighed.

“What? He asked a question, and I gave him an honest answer. I’m sorry if it’s not what you wanted to hear, Isaac, but up until this point, my life- all of our lives in Beacon Hills- has been one big horror movie. Ever since I was fifteen. There was a rogue alpha, then a kanima, hunters, a freaking _alpha pack_ , a nogitsune, dread doctors… I don’t even want to get into the rest. There has been trauma and death, hospital visits that ended in _more death_ , murderous rampages, unimaginable grief, pain, and guess what- _MORE DEATH_!” Stiles took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. “So I’m sorry if this isn’t something you want to hear, but you _need_ to hear it.”

There was a lot of silence after his outburst. Talia was watching him with sad eyes, and the others were staring at him with mixtures of disbelief and actual fear. He’d scared them. He was almost ashamed to find that he wasn’t sorry for it.

“Stiles,” Scott said softly, reaching out. He didn’t look angry anymore, which was… something. But Stiles didn’t want to be touched right now. He took two steps back, putting himself out of reach.

“Talia can show you that we’re not lying. But I need you all to understand right now that I am here to keep you _safe_. I will not lie to you unless it is for your safety and there is no other way. And I hope that you won’t hate me for all of this, but frankly… I’d rather have you alive and hating me than dead and loving me,” Stiles finished as calmly as he could. This time, when Talia reached for him, he allowed her to place a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“I think you should go find Derek,” she told him softly. “He seems to be able to calm you down best.”

“I… no, I’m okay. I just needed to say all of that,” he replied quietly. He took his seat back at the table, refusing to meet anyone’s eyes. He didn’t even know for sure at what point he’d stood up.

“Alright… now that that’s out of the way,” Talia sighed. “I’ll demonstrate what I mean. Some of us have the capability to fully transform into a wolf, but it’s extremely rare. The beta shift is much more common. I can show you both.”

Stiles didn’t pay any attention to the reactions of his friends as Talia transformed- first only her face, and then her entire body. He was too distracted by his own reactions to what they were discussing. He hadn’t been this emotional about it since he’d first arrived. And earlier, when they were playing games… he was beginning to worry that his time here was limited. He was reverting back into his childhood self, and that wouldn’t be good for anyone involved. Eleven-year-old Stiles didn’t know _anything_ that would keep his family safe.

Before he knew it, Talia was slipping out of the room and leaving them all to talk. His eyes met her and she gave him an encouraging smile. It was time for him to tell them about the dangers of hanging around a wolf pack and what he’d need to do to keep them all safe. He wasn’t looking forward to this conversation at all.

“Guys, there are still some things we need to talk about. It’s really not a safe time to be hanging around the Hale pack,” Stiles sighed, inserting himself back into the conversation. They all turned their attention to him, falling silent quickly. “Look, long story short, a group of hunters have been trying to eliminate the Hale pack for a long time now. There were plans which I have completely ruined, and now there are new plans that I can only guess at. I don’t think you’ll be in danger from the hunters, since they can’t exactly figure out you’re hanging around us. Unfortunately, there’s a newer threat that will absolutely know that you’re hanging around the pack.”

“A new threat?” Erica asked, resting her chin on her palm. She looked curious but not afraid.

“A rogue omega who wants to get revenge on the pack,” Stiles confirmed. At their blank looks, he sighed again. “A pack consists of a bunch of betas and an alpha. An omega is a wolf without a pack. This particular omega used to be a part of the Hale pack but made some bad decisions and got himself banished.”

“Would this be the guy Cora keeps glaring at around town?” Isaac asked, perceptive as always. Stiles nodded. “Who is he?”

“Talia’s dad,” Stiles told them.

“And he got kicked out of his own family?” Scott asked, looking horrified. Stiles nodded. “For what?”

“Another very long story,” Stiles frowned. “The short version is that he argued with the alpha one too many times and attacked a member of the pack without provocation. He didn’t want to apologize, so he got booted. It’s… complicated.”

He was glad that they were all nodding without asking more questions; it really wasn’t his story to tell. He felt like he’d already said too much. “So wait,” Erica started, frowning again. “You said we’re in danger. How can we be safe and still hang around you guys?”

“Ah, I was getting to that,” Stiles replied, grinning. “My magic isn’t like what you’d read about in books. I can’t say a bunch of words and make things happen. Which would come in handy, let me tell you! Instead, my magic is based in emotion and runes. As long as I can draw, I can perform magic. And I’ve been working on a series of runes that will hide your scent and heartbeats from wolves. They won’t notice unless they’re specifically looking for it, and if your scent isn’t there to catch, they’re not going to be looking for it.”

“Runes, huh?” Boyd asked, looking interested. “Can anyone learn how to do this?”

“I mean, yes. You have to have a spark to make the runes work, but anyone can learn what they mean and how to draw them. I can teach you, if you want,” Stiles told him. He was treated to a rare but genuine smile from the usual stoic boy.

“Please,” Boyd replied, nodding. Stiles nodded right back, already planning their first lesson in his mind. He had to shake himself to get back on track.

“So… here’s where it gets complicated. In order for the runes to work, they have to be drawn onto your bodies and activated. And I have everything I need to do it, but I’ll have to do it every couple days. The only way to make it permanent would be to tattoo it to your body while I pour my magic into it. And none of us are old enough for that commitment,” he continued. He didn’t tell them that he had a few tattoos with purposes like that in the future. He didn’t always trust Deaton, but he knew the man wouldn’t do anything to hurt him _permanently_.

“You’re just going to draw on us with sharpies?” Erica asked, intrigued. “It has to be where my parents won’t see.”

“Basically, yes. I was thinking it’d be somewhere easy to conceal, like the bottoms of your feet or your ribs,” he agreed.

“How about no,” she said flatly. “You’re not touching my feet, and I’m not taking my shirt off. You can draw on my leg somewhere.”

The expression was one he remembered vividly from _his_ Erica, and he broke down laughing. It took him a couple minutes to get himself under control, and he had to wipe at his eyes to get rid of the tears he didn’t want them to see. They all kindly pretended not to notice.

“Yeah, okay. Legs it is. Everyone roll up your pants while I go grab my supplies,” he answered finally. He stood and left the room before any of them could ask him if he’d finally lost his mind. (Of course he had, but that wasn’t anything _new_.)

Talia stopped him at the base of the stairs and pulled him into a tight hug, letting him bury his face in her shoulder and just cry. He didn’t know how she knew what he needed, but it was _exactly_ what he needed. She stroked his back soothingly, letting him cry silently for a long time. Long enough that his friends were definitely going to be wondering where he was. Finally, he pulled away to smile up at her. She returned the smile.

“Feel better?” she asked softly. He nodded wordlessly, giving her a second hug. She allowed it without question.

“Thank you,” he told her quietly, enough that he was pretty sure the other wolves in the house wouldn’t hear him. “Thank you for everything you’ve done.”

“You don’t have to thank me,” she told him just as quietly. “You sacrificed everything for my family. This is the _least_ I can give you.”

“I’m not sure anyone else would have done what you’re doing. You’ve blindly trusted me to protect you and offered my family your protection with only my word to back me up,” he protested. She shook her head, looking amused.

“I don’t do anything blindly,” she assured him. “I can see how much you care about all of us. My pack and your family. Your pack.”

“You’re _all_ my pack,” he told her, and he wasn’t even surprised to find that he meant it completely.

“As you are mine,” she agreed. He didn’t miss the weight of the moment. It was the first time she’d actually called him pack. He could practically feel the bonds snapping into place as he was accepted into the Hale pack, and he knew the rest of them could feel it as well. He was smiling through his tears as he showed his neck- a symbol of submission to his alpha. She flashed her eyes, and the moment ended as though it had never begun. “You should get back before they come looking for you.”

“I need my markers,” he sighed. She wordlessly handed them to him, smiling again. “Thanks. I’m going to do this as fast as I can. Hopefully I can find an easier way in the near future, because this is going to get old fast.”

“If anyone can, it’s you,” she told him on her way up the stairs. “Call if you need anything. One of us will come to help.”

He didn’t bother to tell her that he knew. He could feel the bonds tying him to each member of the pack, and he knew without a doubt that they’d be able to tell if he needed help before he even registered it for himself. The bonds he’d had with Scott’s pack had _never_ been this strong. He’d never been fully accepted, even from the beginning. The only bond he’d ever felt this strongly had been with Derek in the distant future.

His friends were roughly where he’d left them, discussing the situation amongst themselves as if it were any other day. At least he hadn’t scared them too badly. He set the pack of markers on the table and took his seat in the chair at the head of the table- the one usually reserved for Talia.

“Alright guys, pick your color and come get tattooed,” he joked, gesturing to the seat right beside his. There was a mad scramble for the markers, in which Stiles was _not_ surprised that Erica ended up sitting beside him first with the purple marker.

An hour later, they were back to playing Monopoly as if their lives hadn’t just changed forever. And if Stiles really thought about it, maybe they hadn’t. Not yet.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles and Peter have a hard conversation.

Refreshing the runes on his friends occurred every two days for the next three weeks. Lionel kept up random appearances around town without ever approaching a member of the pack, and it had all of their tension running high. Stiles could no longer leave his house without either Laura or Derek appearing at his side within minutes. Under ordinary circumstances, he would have found it kind of annoying (or even funny on some days). Now, he found it comforting.

He’d taken to walking the paths in the preserve when he was finished carving runes as a way to calm his mind. None of the wolves ever physically joined him, but he was very aware that he always had a tail. Even if he couldn’t feel it through the pack bond, he’d know that there was someone watching him. The first few times, Talia herself had followed him down the easier trails in the preserve, close enough to be a comfort but far enough to give him the space he needed. Derek was next, but only for a couple of days. It was almost as if he could sense that he was doing more harm than good. Laura was the most frequent company in the trees. She had the patience to give him space, but she was always there and always vigilant. She would have been beside him in seconds if he’d needed her. Even Cora had joined him a day or two, though she got bored very quickly. The only wolf who had not walked with him was Peter, and Stiles was pretty sure he’d figured out why he was being avoided.

He waited to do the hardest trail in the preserve until the day he _knew_ all of the other Hales were busy with important things that they couldn’t put on hold. Talia had a meeting with Deucalion, and Laura was sitting in with her to learn. Derek was at basketball practice, and Cora had joined the debate team, which was also practicing. That left only Peter who might be willing to keep up with him and make sure he was safe. And he intended to put himself in just enough danger that the wolf would intervene.

This particular path went around the cliffs in the preserve. He’d walked it many times as a teenager, when he’d been pining for Lydia or upset over something Scott had said or done. He wasn’t used to having an audience. He was, however, used to falling over many times and nearly dying on the edge of the cliffs. Peter would not be used to watching him almost die on the cliffs. He was guaranteed to intervene or face Talia’s wrath when Stiles came back all scraped up and bleeding. It didn’t take Peter very long to realize this.

“What are you doing?” Peter asked, sounding exasperated as he grabbed Stiles’ arm and pulled him sharply away from the ledge. “You’re the clumsiest human I’ve ever met, and you thought walking on the edge of a cliff was a good idea? Do you have a death wish?”

“Well,” Stiles started, and it was very hard not to grin at the exaggerated sigh that Peter gave him.

“Don’t answer that. I don’t want to know the answer to that question. I’m going to keep pretending that you’re a normal eleven year old who has no depression or death wish,” he cut in, pulling him carefully back down the path.

“You let me know if that works out for you,” Stiles told him, amused.

“It hasn’t so far,” Peter grumbled, releasing his arm when they were safely off of the cliff and back onto more solid ground. “Head back to the house. Your mother will be looking for you.”

“It’s still early, and I needed to talk to you,” Stiles replied easily. Peter eyed him warily but made no move to run away. It was better than Stiles had honestly expected.

“What could we possibly have to discuss?” Peter asked, crossing his arms. He was trying to look stern, or maybe even scary, but Stiles saw right through him. He’d forgotten just how dramatic Peter could be.

“Maybe why you’re avoiding me?” Stiles asked, raising his eyebrows. He mirrored Peter’s stance, which had to look funny given how young he appeared to be. Peter seemed to deflate under the question.

“I thought it would be kind,” he admitted. “I seem to have caused you quite a bit of pain in the future.”

“Yeah, but you made up for it eventually. I got over it a long time ago. Remember when I told you that we’re pack? I don’t take that lightly. And I know you can feel the pack bond we’ve got going right now, because _I_ can,” Stiles told him calmly.

“You can feel those?” Peter asked, looking impossibly surprised. He even sounded vaguely impressed. “Humans shouldn’t be able to feel pack bonds.”

“I couldn’t for a long time, in my timeline. It took me _years_ , and then Deaton finally explained to me why I couldn’t,” Stiles replied, smiling slightly. “The first bond I ever felt was with Derek, and it was after Sc- my alpha abandoned me. You were the second bond. Deaton was actually the third, but it was very faint. And then I came back here, and I had none. It was disconcerting to go back to zero.”

“Why couldn’t you feel them before?” Peter asked, but Stiles could tell by his tone that he’d already guessed. He just didn’t want to believe it. 

“Because I thought of him as my alpha- I thought of all of them as my pack. But they didn’t ever consider _me_ pack,” Stiles replied calmly. His voice didn’t waver, and his eyes didn’t fill with tears. This was a fact that he had finally accepted as truth. What he did not say was that he had felt the beginnings of a bond with Isaac, Erica, and Boyd, before they were all taken from him. He’d even felt a tentative ally bond with Allison, at the end. He couldn’t bear to think of those.

“He was not fit to be an alpha,” Peter growled, his eyes flashing angrily.

“I know,” Stiles agreed. “We all knew he was never truly meant to be an alpha. Deaton called him a ‘True Alpha’, but that was one of the first things I researched when I got here. It’s a phenomenon that has nothing to do with the person’s heart or abilities or whatever. It’s purely chemical. Scott was born with the right gene, and it gave him the ability to ascend to alpha without killing.”

“So it _is_ Scott,” Peter said softly, his lips curling. Stiles realized his mistake far too late to correct it. All he could do was nod. “That’s why you don’t want him to have the bite.”

“I-“ Stiles didn’t know what to say to make this better. The last thing he wanted was for Peter to take this out on Scott. _This_ Scott would never even think about hurting Stiles. It had only gone so wrong because of the situations they’d been put through. Now, it would never get to that point. At the very least, Stiles had fixed that.

“He’s the teenager that I turned,” Peter continued. “The one who chased all of us from his pack once he had power.”

“Well, yes, but-“ Stiles tried.

“And he’s the reason you came back,” Peter finished, watching Stiles sharply. It was clear he already knew the answer. There was a tension in his posture that hadn’t been there five minutes ago, and Stiles hated that he knew what that meant.

“No!” he said loudly, his voice trembling. Peter paused, watching him warily. “I mean, yes, Scott did all of that. But he _hasn’t_ done it yet, and now he _won’t._ If I have done anything right at all, it’s that I’ve ensured none of that will happen again. There will be no fire, which means you won’t be stuck in a hospital alone to go crazy. That means there will be no rogue alpha running around to turn Scott and leave him to figure the shift out on his own. And _that_ means that Scott will never have a reason to become a ‘True Alpha’ and turn into a giant, power hungry asshole, okay? He’ll never have a pack to exclude us from, and he’ll never cause the need for me to come back in time and fix things!”

“You’ve given this quite a bit of thought,” Peter said after a long silence. Stiles had only just managed to catch his breath from his rant, and he laughed.

“If you think I’ve thought of _anything else_ the entire time I’ve been here, then you don’t know me at all,” Stiles informed him. “This is the _only_ thing that matters to me. I’m trying to save everyone I love, and that’s… that’s a long list, okay? Putting blame on an eleven-year-old human who hasn’t done any of the things I might blame him for… I just can’t justify it. Scott was my best friend, once upon a time. It’s nice to have that back for a while.”

“You don’t think that will be fixed when you go back?” Peter asked, cocking his head in curiosity. He looked like a curious puppy, and it almost had Stiles laughing again. He decided in that split second that he would be as honest with Peter as he could be, now and in the future.

“I don’t know if I can go back,” he admitted. “I’ve given this a lot of thought. Even if I could find the right ritual to send me back to the future, I wouldn’t belong there. I’ve changed so many things already, there’s no way I’d just fit myself back in. I think you’re all stuck with me as I am.”

“And you’ve accepted that?” Peter asked. His face had gone carefully blank, and Stiles was sure that was so that he wouldn’t see the pity on it.

“As much as I possibly can. I’ve got everything I’ve ever wanted here. So what if I have to grow up again? I think this is worth it,” he said softly. It wasn’t fully true, of course. He would miss _his_ Derek, and the fact that he was an adult. He just… wouldn’t really miss the rest. He was so alone in his future. He liked the feeling of belonging that he had here.

“Well, should you change your mind, I believe I know where to find the ritual you’ll need,” Peter told him casually, as if that wasn’t a giant bomb.

“You do?” Stiles asked, shocked.

“Yes. As soon as I was sure you weren’t lying about being from the future, I got my hands on as many books about time travel and magic as I could. I’ve read them all, and I believe I’ve found a version of the ritual you would need to perform to return to your time,” he answered. He paused before continuing. “But I think you’re right. You’ve changed so much that you’ll no longer recognize the people and places around you. Whether that’s for the better or worse, there’s no telling. There’s no way to know if you’ll have the memories you should have gained from the changes in the timeline or not. Best case scenario, you end up with a bunch of memories that are not truly your own. Worst case scenario, you never gain those memories and are forever surrounded by strangers wearing the faces of your loved ones.”

“Well, aren’t you a ray of sunshine,” Stiles grumbled. He was almost smiling, though. As usual, he and Peter were on the same page. It was nice to have the option if he decided he wanted it, but he was fairly certain that he wouldn’t want it. It was too likely to be a nightmare- if it worked at all.

“I never claimed to be,” Peter pointed out with raised eyebrows. He, too, appeared to be hiding a smile.

“Are we done avoiding each other now?” Stiles asked pointedly. Peter nodded after only a moment’s hesitation, and Stiles knew he wasn’t lying. Peter wouldn’t avoid him anymore. “Thank you. It was getting ridiculous.”

“The things you’ve been through are ridiculous,” Peter tossed back, smirking. “I’m merely sticking to that theme.”

“I’ve had enough ridiculousness to last me two lifetimes,” Stiles pointed out, grinning now. He started heading back down the trail towards the house, and Peter followed him.

“Yes, I suppose that you have,” he agreed softly. “I’m sorry to add to it.”

“Don’t apologize. I wouldn’t know how to treat me, either,” Stiles shrugged. “Just don’t treat me like I’m made of glass and we’ll be fine.”

“You may as well be. You’re basically human,” Peter told him, knocking their shoulders together just hard enough to send Stiles stumbling to prove his point.

“Watch it,” Stiles shot back. “I’m much more powerful than your average human.”

“Yes,” Peter agreed. “Yes, you are.”


	14. Chapter Fourteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Argents make their first move and Stiles encounters a shock (or two).

Kate Argent was working in the middle school. Stiles didn’t know how she’d figured out this was where she needed to be, since the last time around she’d gone the high school route. She’d been a substitute teacher already this time- Stiles vividly remembered Derek mentioning it. And hadn’t Caden said something about her trying to get close to him? They’d all laughed at the time. It was a mistake the Hales wouldn’t be making this time around. It seemed that maybe she’d finally figured it out. 

“Stiles,” Cora said softly, digging her nails into his arm. It was sheer luck that they weren’t claws. She had an unhealthy tendency to forget that he was still technically human.

“I see her,” he replied gently, pulling her hand off of his arm and looping their arms together. “It’ll be fine. She can’t do anything to us here without having a couple hundred witnesses. And cameras!”

“But…” Cora did not sound convinced. Stiles sighed and pulled her out of the cafeteria, ignoring the questioning looks from their friends. 

“Listen, it’s okay. When we get home today, we’ll tell your mom about this. She’ll take care of it, right? You know we’d never let anything happen to you,” he told her quietly, leading her to a quiet hallway.

“Yeah, but I’m not worried about _me_ right now. I can take care of myself. But that lady has no conscience, right? You told us that a long time ago. So what about all of the humans here who _can’t_ take care of themselves? What about Scott, Erica, and Isaac?” she shot back, crossing her arms angrily. “We have to find a way to protect them.”

“I see your point, I do. But the best thing we can do is pretend that we don’t know anything is wrong today. If your mom can’t fix it overnight, then we’ll come in tomorrow with a plan in place, okay? The worst thing we could do right now is go back and make a scene, because then she’d know that we know about her and what she is. She’d feel forced to carry out whatever plan it is that she’s got ahead of schedule. I’d be willing to bet she’s using today to scout us out. It’s already suspicious that we didn’t go straight to our table like usual,” Stiles reasoned.

“Yeah… okay,” she agreed after a few seconds. “But if it even looks like she’s going to attack, we _have_ to protect them. Okay?”

“Deal,” Stiles agreed. As if he wasn’t going to protect them no matter what. That was the entire reason he’d come back, after all! Cora calmed considerably once he’d agreed to her terms, and he was able to get her to their table without any more fuss.

“What was that about?” Isaac asked once they’d sat down, frowning over at Stiles. Cora laid her head on his shoulder, which was definitely not a move she would have made on a normal day. She was trying to discreetly scent him, and Stiles very pointedly didn’t roll his eyes.

“Nothing. I just wasn’t feeling great,” Stiles lied, knowing that only Cora would be able to tell he was lying. None of their friends reacted with anything other than the appropriate concern, thankfully. “I’m fine! I’m fine. If I still don’t feel good after school, I’ll tell my mom, okay?”

“We’re just worried,” Scott told him, frowning. “You never get sick.”

“I mean… I do sometimes? I just don’t usually let you see it,” Stiles admitted. “I hate it when people worry about me.”

“What, you don’t like the attention?” Erica asked, raising her eyebrows in disbelief.

“There’s two kinds of attention, right? Good and bad. Laughing at my jokes is good attention. Worrying about my health is bad,” he informed her. “I appreciate that you’re concerned. I really do. But let me worry about that, okay?”

“Don’t you have special healing magic?” Isaac asked, giving him an amused look. “Just heal yourself and move on.”

“It _really_ doesn’t work like that,” Stiles sighed, giving in to the urge to roll his eyes. “But thanks so much for the suggestion. Can we please move on?”

“What’s wrong with Faye?” Erica asked, her attention across the cafeteria. Her expression was even more worried now, and Stiles felt his heart sink. He really didn’t want to turn to look. “She… she doesn’t look so good.”

Cora was sitting straight up, looking horrified over Stiles’ shoulder at her cousin. She reached out to grab Stiles’ hand, squeezing hard enough to break it (if he hadn’t taken magical precautions weeks ago). “We have to help her. We need to get her out of here _now_.”

Stiles finally turned in his seat to look, and it really wasn’t good. Faye hadn’t packed her lunch today, unlike Cora, and it looked like she was about to throw up whatever cafeteria food she had managed to eat. But the worst part was that something seemed to be rippling across her skin. It was subtle right now; nobody would notice except for someone who was looking for it. It wouldn’t be long before someone human noticed, though. And her eyes… they were closer to red than her usual brown, and rapidly changing color. Stiles still didn’t know what exactly she was, but it was clear that he was about to find out.

He didn’t even think about it before he sprang out of his seat and ran as fast as he could across the cafeteria. He reached Faye just in time to block most of her from sight from the rest of the students and faculty. Her eyes had changed to a blood red, and they were glowing. Her teeth had definitely changed to fangs, but not of a werewolf (or vampire) variety. Her skin was now translucently white and starting to give off a faint glow. She looked up at him with a very pained expression, clearly panicking and unable to stop her shift. 

“Stiles,” she whispered. Her voice was almost melodical, and he found himself leaning in to hear her better. “Stiles, help me!”

He snapped out of it as soon as he heard her plea, shaking his head and frowning. He definitely knew what she was now, and he wasn’t looking forward to the consequences that would follow. He shrugged out of his flannel and draped it over her bare arms, covering her skin as best he could. Then he reached out and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her up out of her chair and hoping she knew to keep her face down. She let her blonde hair fall over her eyes, covering as much of her face as she could without holding her hands up. Together, they hurried out of the cafeteria. Both of them ignored the whispers of gossip that followed them. 

It took less than thirty seconds for Cora to catch up to them, already on her emergency cell phone to call her mother to come get them. They’d almost made it to the door before they were stopped by the worst possible person.

“And just where do you think you’re going?” Kate asked, standing in front of the door with her hands on her hips. “This girl is clearly sick. Let me get her to the nurse. You two should go back to the cafeteria.”

“I’m not leaving my cousin,” Cora growled, stepping in front of Faye with a menacing look. Well, as menacing as an eleven-year-old could be. Kate just grinned, completely unafraid.

“Sweetie, don’t talk back. Go back to lunch,” Kate told her firmly. Stiles had had enough.

“All do respect, _ma’am_ , but you need to get out of our way right now. Our families are coming to get us right now, and we need to be waiting outside. Or do you want to be having this conversation with Talia and Peter Hale?” he asked, looking up at her with an unwavering gaze. He would not be intimidated by her, and he needed her to realize that. It was three against one, and she wasn’t going to win today.

“Hmm. Maybe I _should_ speak with the Hales,” she mused. She was still between them and the door, but she’d lost some of her attitude. She knew she wouldn’t win this time. “I’ll give them a call sometime soon. In the meantime, maybe you kids should pay more attention to what you’re eating.”

Stiles and Cora watched her walk away down the hallway without looking back, keeping the now shaking Faye between them and away from her. As soon as she was out of sight, they pushed through the door and out into the parking lot. 

“She put something in the food,” Cora spat, kicking the stair railing hard enough to dent it. “That _bitch_!”

“Language,” Stiles muttered absently, lost in thought. Faye was sitting beside him on the steps, still hiding her face behind her hair. Her skin had almost returned to normal, but her eyes were definitely still glowing red and in no hurry to change back. She’d stopped shaking, but Stiles could practically feel the fear rolling off of her. He was willing to bet that nobody outside of maybe Peter and her mother knew what she was. 

And that brought so many questions to his mind. Her mother had to be one too, right? And did Peter know? About either of them? Did she trick him into being with her? It was clear that there wasn’t much love between them in everything that they did together. She always held some part of him tightly, as though she knew he’d run away if she let go. It didn’t bode well for what Stiles now knew. But that didn’t mean that Peter didn’t genuinely love his daughter, right? She didn’t act anything like her mother at all.

Did Talia know what her niece was? Did she know about Olivia? He couldn’t imagine that she did. If he had to guess, Olivia had convinced the Hales that she was some kind of nymph or elf. That would explain most of her abilities and what she looked like when she changed. And if they doubted her, she could just break out her true voice and convince them that way. Stiles himself would be researching runes to block that particular talent tonight. And then he could give it to all of the Hales, claiming that it was for their protection- because it would be.

Would Faye need that same rune? Could her mother control her, too? Did _Faye_ ever use that ability to control her family? He couldn’t picture her doing it. She was always so sweet and eager to help. She’d been a good friend to him all this time, hadn’t she? He’d know if she’d used it on him before now. And she’d looked so horrified to have to use her real voice in the cafeteria. Was it because she didn’t like using it, or because she was finally getting caught? He shook his head, banishing that thought from his mind. No, Faye was a good person, he was sure.

And on that note, what had Kate put in her food? Wolfsbane wouldn’t affect her the way that it would a wolf. And mistletoe was a poison, but there wasn’t a creature that Stiles knew of who was forced to reveal themselves when ingesting mistletoe. He’d have to look into that, too. Life would be easier if he had the bestiary, but there was no way that Chris Argent would willingly help him. And he didn’t trust his runes enough to try to steal it for himself.

“ _Stiles_!” Cora shouted in his face, finally gaining his attention back. He flinched away, blinking up at her with a frown. Talia was watching him over her shoulder, concerned.

“Are you alright? Did you eat the food, as well?” Talia asked, reaching around to feel for his pulse. He let her check it, touched by her concern. He didn’t see Peter and Faye anywhere, which he assumed meant that they’d gone back to the Hale house. 

“I’m fine, I was just thinking. I learned a lot of things today that I need to research,” he replied honestly. “But I don’t think it’s a good idea to discuss it here. Or at all, until I know what I’m talking about. Can you trust me on that?”

“Of course,” Talia agreed, offering her hand to pull him to his feet. “Your mother is at our house for the afternoon. Come, I’ll drive you and Cora there. Your friends are welcome to join us after school.”

“Um, actually… if it’s alright with you, I’d like to go home. I’ve got some things I need there. I can call in a few hours if Mom isn’t home by then?” he asked carefully. 

“… I suppose,” Talia agreed, confusion heavy in her voice. Still, she dropped him off at his house without any further questions, proving once again how much trust she had put in this young boy. 

Stiles spent the next three hours going through all of the books that he had at his house, calling Alan Deaton and drilling him with questions he couldn’t find answers for, and researching online for lore that he wouldn’t have access to anywhere else. In that time, both of his parents arrived home and checked on him several times. His mother managed to get him to eat lunch, since he hadn’t eaten at school. His father tried and failed to get him to explain what he was looking for. They both left him to it after he sighed at them for the hundredth time, finally seeming to get that he wasn’t ready to share what he knew.

Just when he thought he’d finally learned everything there was to know about the runes he’d chosen and the creature he was researching, Fate threw him another curveball.

“Sweetie, you’ve got a visitor,” his mother called from the bottom of the stairs. Stiles rolled his eyes, assuming that it was either Scott or one of the Hales.

“Send them up,” he called back, fully expecting to answer a bunch of questions with non-answers. All of that went out of the window when Lydia Martin walked into his room and pushed the door closed.

“Let’s talk,” she said, crossing her arms.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles has an uncomfortable talk with Lydia and gains three new allies.

“We, uh… What do we have to talk about?” Stiles asked, unable to help that panic that he was feeling. He hadn’t even considered bringing Lydia into this. Not this time around. He’d thought that if he left her to live the life she _should_ have had, nothing would wake up her Banshee genes and she’d get to be normal. Well… as normal as Lydia Martin ever was. He certainly wasn’t in love with her this time around, a fact that she seemed just as aware of given the fact that she’d willingly walked into his bedroom to be alone with him.

“Let’s start with what happened at lunch,” she suggested, raising her eyebrows. “Or would you prefer to begin with your sudden interest in the misfits you’ve befriended? And don’t think I haven’t noticed you hanging around with the older Hales as well.”

“You think you know what’s going on?” he asked, genuinely confused.

“No, I don’t,” she admitted. “And that’s part of what bothers me. A few months ago, you were a giant, nerdy nobody who was in love with me and best friends with Scott McCall and _nobody else_. And now suddenly you’ve got a full table and no interest in me whatsoever! Something happened, and I want to know what it was.”

“So you think that since I’m not in love with you anymore, I must be a pod-person?” he tried, suddenly starting to understand what was going on.

“ _No_!” She snapped, slamming a hand down on his desk in annoyance. He didn’t even flinch. She threw up her hands, frustrated. “See, _that!_ A few months ago you would have fallen out of your chair at that noise! You didn’t even jump!”

“Lydia, I need you to calm down. If you really want to know, I’ll tell you. I’ve got no reason not to. And who knows, maybe knowing will help you later,” he sighed, rubbing a hand down his face. “Look, I’m not who you think I am, okay?”

“You’re not Stiles Stilinski?” she asked, crossing her arms.

“Not the one you know. I’m not the little eleven-year-old kid who was totally in love with you and high on life. I’m not the innocent little kid who didn’t see his mom getting sick until it was too late to stop it. I’m not the ignorant kid who only paid attention to you and Scott and nobody else, okay? And everything that I’m going to tell you is going to sound completely insane. Like, worse than the weirdest theory you’ve managed to come up with in your freaky genius brain,” he started.

“You know I’m-“ she started, alarmed.

“I know that you should probably already be in high school at the very least, but you’re content to pretend that you’re not that smart because you want people to like you, yes,” he told her calmly.

“How?” she demanded. She was blushing, but it looked more angry than embarrassed at being called out.

“Because I’m not from this timeline,” he told her. He raised a hand to cut off her denial, seeing it coming from a mile away. “In my time, you and I are friends. You stopped pretending to be stupid around the third time that we had to make Molotov cocktails to throw at rogue werewolves together. Or maybe it was when you had to translate Archaic Latin to save your brainless lizard boyfriend? I don’t know. That’s not the point. I know all these things about you- and everyone else- because I lived them before. I came back in time to save an entire family from dying painfully in a fire, which will _hopefully_ save everyone I have ever cared about.”

“You expect me to believe in time travel just because you knew a couple of things about me?” she demanded, definitely looking angry now. “I came here for answers, not to be made fun of!”

“And I was in the middle of researching Sirens and how to avoid being caught by their enchantment, which you interrupted. If you want to know what I know, you’re going to have to keep an open mind. I can prove some of it, you know,” he shot back, turning his computer screen towards her to show that he wasn’t joking. The runes were definitely ones he never would have looked for on a normal day, and the depiction of the Siren on the screen was vaguely terrifying.

“Sirens?” she asked, sounding curious despite herself. “Why?”

“Because I just discovered today that Beacon Hills is housing two of them” he told her as calmly as he could. “And I’m trying to determine how much of a threat they really are to my family before I bring it to anyone else’s attention.”

“But your dad is a deputy, and your mom is a preschool teacher,” Lydia pointed out, frowning as she tried to make sense of this new information. “How could a siren hurt them?”

“Okay, come sit down. This is… a long explanation, and that’s an understatement. Assuming you’ve believed anything at all that I’ve said today, it’s only going to get weirder. You know the Hale family? The ones you’ve seen me hanging around in the last few months? They’re the ones I came back to save. They’re werewolves,” he told her.

It took almost an hour of explaining and answering questions for Lydia to finally start believing some of the things he’d told her. He’d known from the beginning that she’d be tough to convince, though. Not nearly enough had happened yet for her to have the proof she’d need to believe without question, like she had the first time around. For one thing, there hadn’t been any animal attacks. And she hadn’t seen the rogue alpha for herself, because he didn’t (and hopefully wouldn’t) exist. But she was taking it like a champ, for the most part. He’d decided not to mention her own heritage unless it became clear that she was coming into her powers. He was hopeful that it wouldn’t happen without Peter’s resurrection ritual- which wouldn’t be happening.

“Can you prove any of this right now?” she asked him. She wasn’t frowning or acting angry anymore. She was just hesitantly curious.

“Sure. I can prove the magic part pretty easily. I’ve mastered doing pretty much anything with runes,” he agreed. “What would you like to see?”

“You said you can summon fire. Is that true?” she asked, leaning forward. He nodded, pulling the ever-present sharpie out of his pocket.

“Yeah, sure. It’s not going to be a big flame, though. This house isn’t nearly as fireproof as the Hale house, and I don’t think you want to go there right now. They’re dealing with Faye at the moment,” he told her. She looked like she was going to ask more questions, so he quickly drew and activated the rune in his palm. The same small flame that he’d shown his friends burst into life and danced across his palm.

“Oh my god,” she said quietly, her eyes wide with shock. There was no fear, thankfully. “Can I learn how to do this?”

“Um,” he said, closing his hand to put out the flame. “I mean, technically yes. But you have to have magic inside of you already to be able to activate the runes.”

“How do we find out?” she asked, her eyes lit up with determination.

“Lydia, if you start this, there’s no going back. And you wouldn’t be able to tell very many people about what you were doing. I know from personal experience that Jackson won’t take the supernatural reveal very well, especially when he finds out he can’t be a werewolf himself. And your parents probably wouldn’t approve of you learning magic and hanging around with a werewolf pack, if they ever found out about it,” he told her seriously.

“Okay, but here’s the things,” she shot back. “Jackson had to find out about werewolves on his own, while watching your Scott excel at the things Jackson himself had been best at. Nobody told him or included him. That’s how it’s been his whole life. If we _tell_ him and _include_ him, even if he doesn’t get turned into a werewolf, I think he’ll react very differently. Same with Danny, actually. I’m not keeping any of this from either of them, no matter what you say about teaching me magic. As for my parents… they’ve never paid enough attention to know or care who I hang around or what I do. It sounds like that was true in your time, too.”

“You can’t just tell them everything! Those aren’t your secrets to tell!” Stiles protested quickly, alarmed.

“They weren’t yours to tell, either,” she pointed out. “You’re not a Hale or a werewolf. You definitely didn’t get your alpha’s permission first.”

“She trusts me. She would have told me yes if I’d asked. She let me read in all of my other friends, and she plans to change some of them,” he reminded her.

“Well, you used to trust me,” Lydia scowled. “What changed?”

“I trusted the Lydia who had my back in our constant fight against the supernatural! You’re not her,” he told her. It was harsh, but it was true. “You will never be her. And that is a _good thing_. It means you’re safe. Or at least, you’re as safe as I can keep you. But knowing about the supernatural world automatically puts you in danger. Do you really want to endanger Danny and Jackson, too?”

“There’s safety in numbers. And it’s not like anyone is going to know that we know!” she shot back. “You’re going to have to learn to trust the me that I am now, because I’m not going to change. As you said, I’m never going to be the Lydia that you knew. No offence, but I’m glad! She doesn’t sound all that smart. She made very bad decisions. Or maybe it’s just because she didn’t stop to get all of the information, first. Unless you’re holding out on me in a major way, I’ve got all the information that I need.”

“You don’t,” he told her softly.

“Then give it to me!” She shouted, throwing her hands up in frustration. “Tell me what I need to know to make an informed decision, and then let me make that decision!”

“If I tell you, there’s no going back! It’ll set you on a course that isn’t even slightly safe! And I want to keep you safe!” he shouted back. He knew his parents had to be listening by now, but they hadn’t come to interrupt yet.

“I can keep _myself_ safe, Stiles. If you think I’m not going home to heavily research every creature you named and more, you’re stupid. I’m going to find a way to teach myself, if you won’t teach me. And I’m certainly going to tell Danny and Jackson. I bet they’ll _help_ me learn. Danny might even want to learn with me!” she spat. She stood up from the bed, about to storm from the room. “So you decide right now which side you want me on. Because if I walk out of that door, it _won’t_ be yours. I won’t work against you, but I will certainly never help you. And we will _never_ be friends.”

She waited for his answer, breathing heavily from anger and the force with which she’d just yelled at him. In a strange way, he’d missed being obliterated by Lydia Martin. That was the exact same lecture he would have gotten from his Lydia, he was sure. And his respect for her had shot through the roof. Instead of giving her an answer, he pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed Deaton.

“Hey, Alan? It’s Stiles. Do you know how I asked if I could used your back room to practice? I’m going to have some company, starting tomorrow. Do you think you could pull out a couple of beginner books? A runic how-to? Thanks!” He hung up and shoved his phone back in his pocket. Then he gestured for Lydia to sit back down. She did, after a few seconds of incredulous silence.

“In my time, Peter Hale used you for a ritual to come back to life and try to take over Beacon Hills again. It should have killed you, just like his bite should have changed you. Instead, it woke up a supernatural gene inside of you without any warning. It took us a _really_ long time to figure out what you were, and the answer ended up coming from… well, that doesn’t matter. You’re a Banshee, Lydia. A harbinger of death. And it’s not a bad or evil thing! It’s just… an intense thing. You predicted a lot of deaths, and helped us find a lot of dead bodies,” he told her softly.

“What does that mean for me now?” she asked, just as softly.

“Well… for starters, it means you definitely have the magic you’ll need to activate runes. I don’t know about Danny, if he even actually will want to learn. And I _know_ that Jackson doesn’t. But… it’s just possible that I can convince Talia down the line that he deserves a place in her pack. He does have his useful moments. And I _do_ trust you, Lydia. I always have, in every timeline,” he replied. Her answering smile was worth everything.

“When do I get to meet Talia Hale?” she asked. His smile instantly disappeared.

“Um… maybe not until after I deal with the siren problem,” he sighed. He was _not_ looking forward to that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm surprised I held out this long before bringing Lydia in, to be honest. She's always been my favorite character. Let me know what you guys think so far!! This story still has quite a bit to go.


	16. Chapter Sixteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Stiles confronts two sirens.

He _really_ didn’t want to deal with the siren problem. Like, he didn’t even want to be at the Hale house after what he’d found out. Faye looked just as nervous to have him there when she opened the door, but she didn’t turn him away. She shifted in place, standing in the doorway and staring at him for a long time before she moved to let him in. It didn’t seem to help her mentality when he didn’t immediately go inside.

“Can we talk?” he asked softly, knowing that anyone already inside the house would hear him and be wondering what he had to say to Peter’s daughter. Maybe they’d think he just wanted to make sure she was okay after yesterday. That’s what he was counting on. 

“Yeah,” she sighed, hesitating for a few more seconds before stepping outside and closing the door behind her. “Come on, we can walk in the woods. There’s a place I go when I want to be alone. Nobody bothers me there.”

They walked in silence down a trail Stiles had never even noticed before. He did wonder if it was because she’d influenced it, but that was such a minor thing that he quickly decided not to be upset if she had. It’s not like she was hurting anyone by walking through the woods. The trail ended at a large pond that Stiles had never seen before in his life. He could see a few koi fish swimming towards the center, but there was no other sign of life around them. Faye almost instantly relaxed when her bare feet hit the water. She waded out a couple feet and stopped, turning back to him. 

“I know what you want to talk about,” she said softly. Her voice was eerily calm, but she hadn’t touched on her power. Stiles would have known immediately, thanks to the three new runes he’d drawn on in advance.

“I figured you’d know,” he replied, leaning against one of the few trees growing close to the pond. “Yesterday was a pretty big thing. Does anyone in your family know?”

“My mother,” Faye told him. “But you already knew that. You’re smarter than most people give you credit for. I hear my daddy talking about it all the time. Did you know that he thinks you’re going to save us all?”

“I really hope that I _can_ save you all,” he shrugged. “Peter believing in me isn’t a new thing. He helped me come back because he believed in me, as twisted as his faith was. The things that happened in my time… but we never had sirens, that I was aware of. And I’m beginning to think that’s because Peter himself wasn’t aware of it. What does he think you are?”

“Mom told him we’re nymphs,” she said after a few minutes of silence. She was studying him with new interest, not seeming to understand why he cared so much. That was something he was used to.

“And of course everyone believed her. They wouldn’t have had a choice,” he tried to hide the bitterness, but he knew he wasn’t successful. “Faye, I know you’re a good person, okay? I know you don’t want to hurt anyone, or control anyone. I get that. But your mom has been hurting a lot of people for a long time. You know what sirens do, don’t you? You know what you feed on?”

“No, you don’t-“ she took a deep, shuddering breath. “You don’t understand. We would _never_ hurt our family. And I know what sirens do, okay? But I’m half wolf, Stiles. I don’t need that. I don’t have to use my powers, and I certainly don’t need… I don’t need to feed.”

“Maybe you don’t,” Stiles agreed. “And I believe you. I don’t have to be a wolf to know that you’re not lying. But your mother is a full-blooded siren, Faye. She _does_ use her power, and she _does_ feed. And she’s been feeding off of your father- your whole pack- for years.”

“You don’t know that!” Faye said quickly, moving towards him faster than humanly possible. Her eyes were faintly glowing red, and her skin was translucent. She was very close to losing control, and it was definitely Stiles’ fault.

“I don’t have proof yet, you’re right,” Stiles agreed calmly. “But I’m about to have a very long conversation with the adults of the family, and I _will_ have proof. I have something for you before we do all of that, though.”

“You… what?” Faye stopped directly in front of him, her eyes dimming back to normal in her surprise. 

“I did a lot of research yesterday when I got home,” he told her. “I know more about sirens than any other creatures other than werewolves and druids. I found some runes that will benefit everyone, and some that will exclusively benefit you. And if your mother hasn’t been hurting everyone, or has been doing it accidentally, they’ll benefit her, too.”

“You can use your magic to help me with my control?” she asked. Her hands were shaking when she reached out for him, grabbing his arm as an anchor. “Stiles, you don’t know what that means to me. I’ve been struggling for so long.”

“What happened yesterday won’t happen again while I’m around, I promise,” he replied, wrapping her in a hug. “The runes will help you hide, and will help calm the urges.”

“And you’re just… giving them to me?” She was still so hesitant, very obviously scared. Stiles wasn’t sure if her mother had made her fear herself, or if she’d done that all on her own, but he was glad that he’d be able to help her. He pulled his trusty marker out of his pocket and waved it triumphantly, making her laugh softly.

“Yeah. That’s kinda what I do,” he assured her. He held out his hand, and she laid her arm in it without hesitation. It took him less than five minutes to draw and activate the runes, and Faye was smiling the whole time.

“Thank you,” she told him softly as they walked back up to the house. “Do you really think you can help my mom?”

Stiles took a little bit to think his answer over. “If she can be helped, sure. But there’s a very real possibility that she knew what she was doing the whole time. And if that’s the case, I don’t think there’s much I can do for her. I’m bringing it to Talia’s attention- and to your father’s- in the hopes that they already know and don’t need anything from me beyond the runes I made last night.”

“You don’t really think that’s the case, do you?” she asked. Stiles had never heard a child sound so defeated. He continually forgot that she was supposed to be older than him by a year and a half. Faye was thirteen, but she acted just as old as he did sometimes.

“No, I don’t,” he admitted. “And I’ve never hoped to be wrong more in my life.”

The adults were already gathered by the time they made it back into the house. Talia greeted him with a warm smile, but Peter and Olivia were glaring at him coldly. Faye lingered in the doorway until Stiles reached over to grab her hand a squeeze. He gave her a light smile, and she smiled back before turning and going up to her room. Peter was growling under his breath when he turned back.

“I have two things to discuss with you, but one of them is really important and can’t wait. I have two new runes to give everyone in this house, right now,” Stiles said quickly. Talia raised her eyebrows but nodded, willing to give him what he wanted. 

“I suppose I’ll go first,” she said, stepping forward and already rolling up her sleeves. “More protection runes?”

“Yes,” he agreed, pulling out his marker for the second time that hour. “I already gave them to Faye. I’ll get everyone here, and then the other three can get them when we’re done talking.”

He’d started drawing as he spoke, and he was glad that he had. The rune he’d started with would nullify any siren song immediately, and he activated it just as Olivia opened her mouth. While Peter and Jonathon went glassy eyed and listened, Talia and Stiles remained in their right mind.

“This is ridiculous! This child doesn’t know what he’s talking about. His rune hurt my child! You can’t honestly expect us to take _more_ runes from him!” she said softly, her eyes flashing deep red. Stiles could hear the song in her voice, but it did nothing to him. A quick glance at Talia showed that she was hearing it, too, but was unaffected. She was staring at Olivia in horror.

“You _will_ let this child give you whatever rune he deems necessary,” she growled, flashing her own eyes. Jonathon and Peter submitted to the alpha’s command, shuffling forward to allow Stiles to draw on them as soon as she spoke. Olivia didn’t move, her scowl growing more pronounced.

“Peter, darling, come here. We’re leaving,” she said coldly. He turned to her immediately, entranced by her voice once more. “We won’t allow this child to harm our family any longer, will we?”

“No, darling,” he replied, his voice holding a dream-like quality. Stiles watched in horror as Peter went back to Olivia with a loving smile on his face. “We’ll go.”

“You will do no such thing!” Talia snarled. “Give Stiles your arm _now_.”

“ _Walk from this room with me, Peter_ ,” Olivia sang, putting as much of her power into it as she could. It hit Peter hard, making his whole face go slack as soon as he heard it. 

“Olivia, stop!” Talia cried, concern etched across her face. Olivia shot her a triumphant smile as Peter continued to walk towards her, ignoring everyone else in the room. “What are you _doing?_ ”

“The child may have stopped me from influencing you, but I’ve been with Peter for _much_ longer. He will listen to me over anyone else. I’ve seen to that. I won’t lose my family to a meddling child, no matter what he’s come back to do,” Olivia told her, wrapping her arm around a smiling, oblivious Peter.

“You mean you don’t want to lose your food source,” Stiles cut in. “You don’t really care about Peter or the rest of the Hales at all, do you? Because I did a lot of research last night, and what I found out was that sirens don’t really feel love. They feed off of it, sure, but they don’t feel it. A werewolf pack is just _full_ of love, right? And when you found Peter, who wanted someone to love more than anything else in the world, you knew you had some easy prey. But you never loved him. You don’t even love Faye. You never taught her about her heritage. You never taught her any kind of control over her siren powers. We’re all really lucky that she hasn’t slipped and killed anyone yet.”

“You think she hasn’t?” Olivia laughed. “Oh, child, you don’t even know. Half of the animal attacks that we’ve been blaming on Omegas were my little Faye. That pond she thinks I don’t know about? She likes to lure people there when they get lost in the woods. She doesn’t know that she’s doing it, of course. The urge hits her, and it’s all she can think about. Once it’s done and she’s fed, she blacks out. I find her there with the bodies, and I do what needs to be done to hide that we exist. Peter is good for faking an animal mauling, though he never remembers doing it. And let me tell you, the love of a child is the best meal I could have ever asked for.”

“You feed off of your own daughter? You’ve been feeding off of my entire _family_?” Talia demanded. She tugged Jonathon behind her, though he was still fairly out of it from the siren song. Stiles stepped over and began to draw the runes he’d given to Talia, waking him from the trance and protecting him against being fed off of.

“Of course I have! Do you know what a siren is, Talia? Do you know anything about me at all? You didn’t even know you had a siren in your pack. Two of them, in fact,” Olivia taunted.

“Actually, Faye is half wolf,” Stiles shot back conversationally. 

“Don’t remind me,” Olivia spat. “I almost wish she’d been half human. Wolves are such dirty creatures. 

“Maybe not a thing you want to say in a house full of them,” Stiles pointed out. Jonathon squeezed his arm gently in thanks once the runes were activated, then took Talia’s hand to face Olivia together. “Now, you want to give Peter a chance to make decisions for himself? Or are we doing this the hard way?”

“Peter has never made a decision for himself in his life,” Olivia snorted, digging her now-sharp nails into his shoulder. Peter didn’t even wince. “When it wasn’t me, it was Lionel or Talia. He has no spine.”

“You’re wrong.”

Everyone turned to look at Faye, who was standing in the doorway looking absolutely livid. The runes were glowing on her arm, which meant that she was drawing on the control that Stiles had magically given her. He was proud of her. Talia pulled Jonathon and Stiles backwards, out of the way of the two sirens. He could tell she was wishing she could pull Peter away, as well.

“My father is the bravest person that I know. He makes decisions when you’re not around just fine,” she continued, stalking into the room. “When it’s just the two of us, we have fun. He loves me, _really_ loves me, and I would never take advantage of it. You had to _make_ him love you, didn’t you?”

“ _Go back to your room_ ,” Olivia ordered, her eyes glowing again. The power she’d shoved towards Faye rolled right off almost visibly. She didn’t budge.

“No. I think that you should leave,” Faye shot back. _Her_ eyes were glowing now, but the runes were still giving her control. She was doing this for herself. “Leave this place. Leave my family alone.”

“I am your family,” Olivia spat, stepping towards her. “I am your mother, and you will not speak to me like that.”

“You may have brought me into this world, but you are _not_ my family,” Faye told her. “Family is supposed to take care of you, support you. Family loves you unconditionally, not because you force them to. Family helps you. Family stands by you. You are _not_ a part of this family. You don’t belong here.”

Olivia was still scowling, walking towards Faye with her hand held out. Stiles wasn’t sure what she was planning to do, but it wouldn’t be good. Faye met her gaze evenly, taking a few steps forward. Stiles saw the exact moment she reached inside for her full power.

“ _GET. OUT_ ,” she shouted, shoving all of the power she could out of herself and straight at her mother. It hit her with the same intensity as her own voice had hit Peter. They could all see the struggle on her face as she struggled to fight, but Stiles just knew she’d already lost. Without another word, Olivia spun on her heel and fled the house.

Just as Stiles was about to congratulate Faye, both she and her father collapsed to the ground. Talia made a broken sound and made to run towards them, but Stiles held up a quick hand.

“No, they’re fine. Peter just needs to sleep off the effects of a siren’s song, and Faye exhausted herself. Let me draw the runes on Peter, and then we can move them to their rooms. They’ll be fine. And just in case, I still want to give everyone else these runes. Olivia could try to come back any time,” he told them, pulling the cap off of his marker and kneeling beside Peter.

“We should hunt her down and kill her for what she’s done,” Jonathon said darkly. Talia seemed inclined to agree.

“That wouldn’t help anything. As much as I hate what she’s done, she’s still Faye’s mom, right? Instead, I’ll track her down and make her leave town. Just let me take care of everything here,” Stiles tried. Talia was shaking her head before he’d even finished.

“That’s my job. You’ve done so well already. Let me handle Olivia. I promise no harm will come to her unless she attempts to harm me, first,” she assured him. “You may be remarkable, but you must remember that you’re still a child. Let the adults handle some of this. You’ve been doing more than enough with your magic and knowledge. Don’t try to fight on our behalf.”

“Because I’m a weak human?” Stiles asked bitterly. 

“Because you’re eleven years old, physically,” Jonathon shot back with a small smile. “You may come from the future, but you’re still so young. You’ve seen and done things a fully grown werewolf couldn’t even imagine. For once, let _us_ take care of _you_.”

He wanted to believe that it was possible to pass responsibility on to the adults, he did. But that just seemed to good to be true. His luck definitely didn’t work like that. Still, it would reassure them if he gave them what they wanted just this once. He certainly didn’t _want_ to deal with a murderous siren. So he simply nodded and finished activating his runes. Then he stepped aside to let Jonathon carry Peter up to his room.

“Promise me you won’t go looking for trouble this time,” Talia implored as she knelt to pick Faye up gently. He sighed, but nodded again. Her stern look didn’t really surprise him at all.

“Okay, fine, I promise. I won’t go looking for Olivia. But if she comes after me, I can’t be blamed for defending myself. Same as you,” he replied. 

“Deal,” Talia told him after a few seconds of thought. “I couldn’t ask for anything more. Not even from my own children.”

“Can you imagine Laura actually avoiding trouble? Or _Cora_?” Stiles laughed. He didn’t need to be a wolf to hear their indignant squawks from out in the hall. 

“If only,” Talia sighed playfully. She shot him a wink as she carried Faye from the room. 


	17. Chapter Seventeen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three *very* important conversations.

“So Kate Argent, the lady who just started working in the office, is a hunter?” Lydia asked. She was lounging on his bed, a book of Latin open in front of her. She’d been doodling on the page of her notebook for the past twenty minutes while Stiles filled her in on Lionel Hale, Olivia, and the Argents. He figured it would be good for her to know what kind of danger she’d be in if they continued on like this. She was taking it too well.

“Unfortunately. She and her father are completely insane and really dangerous. Future Gerard locked me in his basement and almost killed me to send a message. Kate burned down the Hale house while they were all trapped inside. They’re bad news,” he replied. She just nodded. “So we need to _avoid_ them.”

“Yes, I understand that, thanks,” Lydia told him. She was very clearly trying not to smile. “I’m not stupid.”

“I never said you were stupid!” Stiles sighed, running a hand across his face. “I’m just worried, okay? I don’t want them to be able to take everyone I care about. Not again.”

“Is Gerard the one who made you lose your pack last time?” Lydia asked, sounding genuinely curious.

“In an indirect way, yes,” he said after a few seconds. “It was after he kidnapped me that I realized I really needed to find a better way to defend myself than waiting for Scott to realize I was gone and come save me. Especially since Scott was really _bad_ at noticing I was gone.”

“He doesn’t sound like a very good friend,” Lydia told him pointedly. He rolled his eyes.

“He’s not the same person this time around. A lot of things happened very quickly that none of us could have anticipated, and it really changed him. He was suddenly given a lot of power and responsibility that he’d never asked for. That would change anyone,” he shot back.

“It didn’t change _you_ ,” Lydia pointed out. “The way I see it, you’ve been given the power and responsibility this time. You haven’t left anyone behind. In fact, you seem to have gone out of your way to make sure that _nobody_ gets left behind, even people you’d be better off without.”

“Sometimes you are very scary,” Stiles said under his breath, and she laughed. 

“That just means I’m right,” she said lightly, turning back to her book.

Jackson and Danny took the news of werewolves and magic shockingly well. There were no meltdowns or accusations, no fighting, no yelling… nothing but a lot of silence. Lydia was painting her nails in the corner, only speaking up when she felt that Stiles was leaving something particularly important out. It didn’t happen very often. When Stiles was finished, they all sat there in silence for a long time. Finally, Danny spoke up.

“I’m sorry, _this_ is the big secret you’ve had for the last few months? This is why you started hanging out with the Hales and…” he trailed off, unsure of how to finish.

“Erica, Isaac, and Boyd,” Stiles supplied helpfully. “They’re all human, for now. I’m working on that.”

“Right,” Danny muttered, looking frustrated. 

“What did you think I was doing?” Stiles asked, bewildered. Jackson snorted, then tried to cover it with a cough.

“He thought you were trying to start a harem, or possibly selling homework,” Lydia chimed in. “We’ve been hearing him talk about it for weeks now. You owe me for keeping your secret when I found out.”

“How long have you known?” Jackson asked, giving her a hurt look. She shrugged, filing one of her nails and never bothering to look up.

“A few days,” she answered, when it was clear he was going to wait until she told him. “I confronted him and he told me. I didn’t give him much of a choice.”

“She showed up here and demanded answers after that day in the cafeteria with Faye,” Stiles added. “She really didn’t give me a chance to even try to think of a lie.”

“As if you could fool me,” she rolled her eyes. “I’m learning magic. He said he’d teach you, too, Danny.”

“What about me?” Jackson asked, turning his hurt look on Stiles. It was astounding how differently Jackson was treating him. He wasn’t surprised that Danny had been kind; Danny was the nicest guy that Stiles had ever met. Nicer than Scott, even. Lydia was being… civil. She was meeting his sarcasm with her own, and keeping up with his snark. He couldn’t call her nice, but she definitely wasn’t being cruel or dismissive. Jackson seemed to be taking their lead, and he was treating Stiles the same way he treated Danny, for now. 

“I can feel the magic under Danny’s skin,” Stiles admitted sheepishly. “He’s got raw potential. Lydia is a banshee, and therefore has magic of her own. I don’t think you have any, Jackson. But I have other plans for you.”

“You do?” he asked, leaning forward. “What would that be?”

“Well, for starters, you guys should probably get used to hanging around with a bunch of losers. Where I go, my pack follows,” he started. If Jackson couldn’t handle that, he wasn’t cut out for the werewolf life. “Eventually, you guys will be pack, too.”

“You mean… werewolves?” Danny asked, frowning. “I don’t think I want to be one of those.”

“Unless I’m sadly mistaken, I’m pretty sure you’re actually something else,” Stiles told him gently. “You won’t be a werewolf unless you ask Talia Hale for the bite and she agrees. And she’s kinda following my lead on that, for now.”

“Why is that?” Lydia asked, finally looking up from her nails. “A big alpha werewolf is following an eleven-year-old’s commands… why, exactly?”

“Because I’ve saved her family more than once,” Stiles said calmly. “And I came back to do a lot more than that. But she’s not ‘following my commands’. She’s listening to my suggestions and taking them under consideration when she makes her own decisions. So far, we’ve agreed on most things. She’s going to start the process of turning Isaac soon. She’s just working on getting custody, first. And then she’s going to talk to Erica’s parents about turning her, to cure her seizures. Then Boyd. And then, if all goes well and we can stop the Argents, I’m hoping she’ll turn Jackson.”

“Really?” Lydia and Jackson spoke at the same time, then shared a small smile. Neither Stiles or Lydia mentioned the reason that she’d been so surprised. He’d tell her his reasoning later, when they were alone. Or maybe he wouldn’t.

“Yeah. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with being human, don’t get me wrong. _I’m_ human. But am I wrong in thinking it’s something you might want?” Stiles asked, ignoring Lydia completely. 

“No, you’re not wrong,” Jackson admitted. “I think it sounds really cool. And I like the idea of being able to protect the people I care about.”

“It’s appealing,” Stiles agreed with a small smile. “I’m hoping by the end of this, all three of you will be able to defend yourselves. Magic and claws really are the best weapons in this world.”

“You’re so weird, Stilinski,” Jackson snorted, shaking his head. “You’re going to give me so many headaches, aren’t you?”

“So many,” Stiles agreed, grinning now. “But it’ll all be worth it. So, sit with us at lunch tomorrow?”

“Fine, sure,” Jackson sighed when Danny elbowed him. “Might as well just jump into the weird head first.”

“That’s the spirit!” Stiles laughed, clapping his hands together. Jackson just groaned.

“You know, Mom is going to kill you if you keep bringing people in on the secret. Our pack is growing and it’s getting out of control. Don’t get me wrong, I love having a huge pack… but it’s starting to feel like you’re taking over,” Laura announced, dropping onto the bleachers beside him. He blushed, definitely not expecting to be caught watching Derek’s basketball practice.

“Uh… what?” he asked, glancing over at her.

“Those three new humans?” Laura asked, nudging him. “The Martin girl showed up at the house yesterday to ask Mom questions. Thankfully, she was more amused than annoyed.”

“Oh god. Lydia just… showed up to a house full of werewolves and started asking questions?” Stiles groaned, dropping his head into his hands. Laura laughed at him.

“Yep. She’s fearless. It was kinda cute, actually. Is she your little girlfriend?” she asked, nudging Stiles again. They both pretended not to notice Derek losing his balance on the court.

“Nah. I had a crush on her once upon a time, but that went away a _long_ time ago… in the future. And isn’t that weird?” he replied, rubbing the back of his head. “She’s just a really good friend. Or she will be, soon. I don’t know, tenses are really weird right now.”

“It makes more sense than a lot of the things you say,” Laura told him gently. “I know you care about her. She told us all about how she demanded answers and you gave her all kinds of warnings before telling her anything at all. She knew all about your future and her part in it, and she seems really excited to change it for the better.”

“She doesn’t,” Stiles said softly. “I only told her parts of it, edited for an eleven-year-old. I didn’t tell her why we didn’t talk anymore, or what happened to make things so bad. I haven’t really told _anyone_ the whole story, and I don’t plan to. I’m just going to change it.”

“And then live with it for the rest of your life?” Laura frowned, wrapping an arm around him comfortingly. “You don’t have to tell me, and I certainly won’t ask you to. But you should find someone that you trust and talk to them about the things you haven’t said yet. I think it’ll really help you to move on. Because you can protect us for the rest of our lives, but you can’t really be happy until you let go of the past and move on.”

“You’re too smart,” Stiles sighed, leaning into her.

“I’m going to be a psychologist,” she admitted. “I haven’t really told anyone yet, but that’s what I plan to go to school for. And I got accepted into a really good school, but it’s not exactly around here. I haven’t made my decision yet.”

“Your family and pack will always be here,” Stiles reminded her. “You can always come back once you’ve finished, and start a practice here. God knows this place could use a good psychologist. Maybe I’ll be your first patient.”

“That won’t work. The first thing that they teach you is that you should never treat your own family,” she told him. She pressed a kiss to his cheek, then stood and left him to think that over while practice finished. He was still thinking about it when he left before Derek could catch him when the practice ended.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is anyone interested in being a beta for this fic? I could use someone to bounce ideas off of, and to read the chapters before I post them to help catch continuity and grammar errors. There's still so much to go!!


	18. Chapter Eighteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A surprise ally makes an appearance.

“Laura has a boyfriend,” Cora grumbled, dropping into the seat beside Stiles at lunch. Her forehead immediately fell to his shoulder as she subtly scented him. Gradually, she relaxed against him.

“Okay?” Stiles replied, confused. He didn’t see how that could possibly be a bad thing.

“His name is Graham,” she continued. “Do you want to know how I know that?”

He had a feeling that he did not, but he also had no impulse control, so… “How do you know that?” he asked, placing his fork back on the table and giving her his full attention.

“Our rooms are not as soundproofed as Mom promised,” Cora informed him. And… yep, there’s that regret he knew he’d be feeling. 

“ _Oh_ ,” he replied, his nose wrinkling. “Wait, she hasn’t introduced him to the family yet?”

“From what I can gather, it’s a pretty new thing,” Cora sighed. “Derek says she probably just wants to make sure it’s more than just a casual thing before she brings him home officially. He’s had a few casual girlfriends that we never met, too.”

Stiles didn’t say anything. The whole conversation made him uncomfortable, because he actually knew quite a bit about Paige. He hadn’t realized that Talia had never met her, though. He almost asked Cora if she had, but… he didn’t think he really wanted to know.

“Have you tried talking to Laura about this? Maybe she’d be willing to go to his house, instead,” he suggested, just wishing the conversation would end. Cora rolled her eyes.

“This is Laura we’re talking about. She _lives_ on drama. Besides, I’m pretty sure she’s bringing him home while Derek and I are there on purpose. She can’t just come out and tell us that she’s dating someone, but she wants us to know, you know?” she replied.

“Hmm,” he agreed. As amusing as this conversation was starting to be, he was still glad that Scott chose that moment to join them at the table. Cora stayed quiet through the rest of lunch, and Stiles didn’t see her at school for the rest of the day.

He was late coming out of English, through no fault of his own. (It was all Boyd’s fault that he accidentally set his paper on fire. Nobody would believe him, but it _was_. It’s not like he _meant_ to activate the experimental rune he’d been sketching. Boyd startled him, and his first reaction was still to reach for his magic… not his fault.) He took his time at his locker, knowing from experience that Derek would leave him behind if he wasn’t on time. Laura would usually swing by to grab him from however far he’d gotten on his walk to the preserve as soon as Derek arrived without him.

He’s only made it to the edge of the parking lot before a car pulls up beside him, but… it’s not Laura or Derek. 

“Come on, I’ll give you a ride to where you’re going,” Chris Argent told him, unlocking the car door for him. Stiles eyed him suspiciously, and the man sighed. “Look, I’m not going to hurt you. I’m not like… the rest of my family.”

Stiles knew from experience that it was true. Still, in this timeline, he couldn’t figure out why Chris would want to help an enemy of his family. Unless… they’d already gone too far. With that in mind, Stiles made the worst possible decision; he pulled the car door open and climbed inside.

“The Hale house, please,” he said simply, settling his bag into his lap. Chris pulled away from the school and down a side street that was usually deserted. He was clearly going to avoid any street that they might be spotted on, and Stiles was fine with that. It’s not like he’d be defenseless if something went wrong, and he liked the idea of getting help from this Argent without his family finding out. The silence stretched on for two streets before Chris spoke.

“I don’t know why the Hales have decided to basically adopt you, and frankly, I don’t care. I’m not okay with harming children,” he said quietly. “I don’t know how much you know about the Hales, or about my family, but there are a few things that I can tell you.”

“I know everything,” Stiles assured him. “I know what the Hales are, and I know what your family does for a living. For the record, I’m not okay with anyone harming my family. And in case you were wondering, the Hales are very much a part of my family.”

“Under any other circumstance, I wouldn’t interfere,” Chris continued as though Stiles hadn’t spoken. “But now that they’ve brought children into it, I can’t sit back and just watch.”

“Then don’t. Help us,” Stiles prompted. Chris stayed quiet for a little longer, seemingly fighting with himself. Finally, he pulled to a stop on the side of the road.

“You need to tell them that they’re not safe. Gerard has inside information, and the attack is already planned. None of them will survive if they aren’t prepared,” he said eventually. Stiles frowned, concerned.

“Wait, insider information? We’ve been too careful for that,” he replied carefully. He wasn’t going to give away what they knew. He didn’t trust any Argents, not even Chris. Chris seemed to feel the same way, as he struggled with what he wanted to say.

“Kate was supposed to get close to one of the younger Hale boys. She tried Derek, but he completely ignored her. Caden led her on for a few days and then lost interest. And when they were about to find another way to infiltrate the family, we were given what we needed,” he explained. “They’re ready to move forward now, and they’re not going to let anyone survive.”

“They don’t know what they’re up against,” Stiles said darkly. “When are they planning to attack?”

Chris studied him carefully for a few seconds, and Stiles couldn’t read the expression on his face. He could guess that Chris was reevaluating what he thought of this child he’d just met. He was used to that by now. “I don’t know. They don’t trust me enough to give me all of the information,” he admitted after his hesitation. “I won’t know until it’s time for it to happen. They won’t leave me behind.”

“Then you know what you have to do,” Stiles told him calmly. He watched Chris run a hand through his hair, waiting as patiently as he could.

“Yes,” he replied after a while. “Yes, I know. It’s just…”

“I know,” Stiles told him softly. “I know. It’s hard to turn your back on everything you’ve ever known to do the right thing, especially when you don’t even know if the right thing can be done. And how do you leave behind everyone you love, just because there _might_ be a better outcome to achieve? But… it’s worth it, if it means saving the lives of innocent people and giving your loved ones a brighter future.”

“I-“ Chris didn’t seem to know what to say, and Stiles realized just how much he’d said. He winced, wishing he could take the words back.

“Sorry. Pretend you didn’t hear all of that,” he tried. 

“I’m not going to do that,” Chris countered. “But suddenly a lot of things about you are starting to make sense. You’re the one variable none of us had been sure of. I get it, now. I don’t know how you did it, but… I get it.”

“So you don’t want to help us,” Stiles frowned, his heart sinking. 

“You wouldn’t be in my car if I didn’t want to help you. Kate is the one who likes playing mind games with children. Because even if you’re not really as young as you look, you’re still a child. I know that much.”

“I’m not a child!” Stiles snapped. “I’ve lived through more than you could possibly imagine, and you wouldn’t believe me if I tried to tell you. And believe me, I _don’t_ want to tell you. You wouldn’t win a mind game against me. Kate couldn’t.”

“Just… calm down, okay? I didn’t mean any offence,” Chris sighed. “I’m doing this all wrong. Look, I’ve told you all that I can right now. The attack is coming soon, but I don’t know quite when. They know all of the pack’s weaknesses, and they’re confident they’ll win. I want to help you.”

“But how are you going to help if you don’t know more?” Stiles pressed, gripping his bag tightly. 

“If nothing else, I’ll be at that battle. I won’t let anyone innocent get hurt, I can promise you that,” he replied tightly. 

“I guess that’s all we can ask,” Stiles said softly. “Thank you for risking what you have.”

“It’s the right thing to do,” Chris shot back, pulling back onto the road. Stiles could have said something then and there about Allison, but he knew instinctively that it wouldn’t go over well. He shouldn’t have known about her. The last thing he wanted to do was push away their best chance at survival. But he knew, deep down, that Allison would have been so proud of her father in that moment. Someday, Stiles would make sure she knew what he’d done.

They pulled up to the Hale’s drive just as Laura was about to turn out of it. Stiles gave Chris a cordial nod as he climbed out, hurrying to Laura before she could get out of the camaro and attack. She was growling as he climbed into her passenger seat, and he reached over to grab her arm in an attempt to calm her.

“Laur, I’m fine. I need you to take a few deep breaths for me, okay? I’ve got a lot of things to tell you guys, but I need you to be calm for it,” he told her, speaking softly as he watched Chris drive away in a hurry. It was going to be a long night for both of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! Stiles has a mind of his own, no matter how much I plot. This story only has a few chapters to go, but there will be a sequel!


	19. Chapter Nineteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A transition before the battle.

April began on a good note. On April second, Talia called a pack meeting to inform them all that she had won the battle against Isaac’s father for custody of Isaac himself. The court had awarded her guardianship until someone could come forward to officially adopt him, something that she was quick to assure everyone she was working on.

(Stiles knew from Scott that Talia was trying to talk his mom into adopting Isaac. She’d set up a trust fund for him that only his parent or guardian could access until he turned twenty-one, and she was putting a small fortune into it for anything Isaac might need over the years. Scott had told him that his mother was genuinely considering it, especially since she wouldn’t have to worry about finding extra money to take care of him.)

With that taken care of, she informed them all that she was beginning to talk with Erica’s parents about offering her the bite to cure her epilepsy. “There are many things we still need to discuss, and they will need to spend time with the pack as a whole before any decision is made. If they don’t fit in with us, I can’t even begin to consider asking them to join our family. However, I will still offer Erica the bite if they wish it. We can always find her another pack nearby, if it comes to that.”

“I don’t think it’ll be a problem,” Stiles told Cora softly, very aware that the whole room would hear him. Nobody reacted, though Talia did give him an amused smile.

“Of course you don’t,” Cora whispered back. “It was your idea.”

“My _great_ idea,” Stiles corrected, grinning. Talia cleared her throat to gain their attention before continuing, her tone fond.

“Something else has been brought to my attention,” she announced, sharing a smile with Claudia that Stiles wasn’t sure he liked. It was confirmed when Talia’s gaze turned straight to him. “Stiles has a birthday coming up next week. We’ll be having a celebration here in the preserve, and the entire pack is invited to join us.”

“Mom,” he groaned under his breath, closing his eyes for a few seconds. He was completely mortified, but also… this was already one more birthday than he ever thought he’d have with his mother. He couldn’t really complain about it. He certainly hadn’t expected it to be turned into a pack event, but he could live with it. Cora nudged him with her shoulder, grinning widely.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” she asked softly, and the wolves around them politely pretended they weren’t eavesdropping. “Birthdays are a big deal in the pack!”

“They are?” he asked, turning wide eyes to her. She paused for a second, surprised by his reaction. “I mean… of course they are. I knew that.”

“No, you didn’t,” she accused. “Do we not… don’t we do that anymore?”

“There wasn’t really a whole lot of time to celebrate, and nobody was ever really in the mood to throw a party. The few that we had always ended in tragedy of some kind. Murder or abduction, or… attempted murder,” he shuddered, remembering. Cora laid a hand on his arm gently.

“This won’t be like that,” she promised. “There will be cake and presents, and all the normal birthday things. All your friends and family will be there. It’s _fun_ , I promise.”

“I believe you,” he assured her. “I’m just not used to it. It’s been years since the last time I _really_ celebrated my birthday with anyone other than my dad. We usually ordered pizza and watched tv. It was never really a big deal. That was always…” His eyes went to his mother automatically, and she was watching him sadly. It was clear she understood exactly what he meant.

“You’re here now,” Cora said simply. “Aren’t things better?”

“Yes,” Stiles confirmed. “And it’s going to stay this way.”

She let the conversation die from there, and Stiles was thankful for it. For the rest of the night, he caught various members of the pack giving him sad or calculating looks, but none of them brought up what he’d said. Laura stayed pretty close to him until it was time for his family to go home. She never spoke to him, but it was obvious she was keeping an eye on him. 

His mother didn’t bring any of it up until she sent him to get ready for bed. His parents hadn’t really stopped treating him like the child he was supposed to be, and he found he was thankful for it. It felt good to have this back, even if he was mentally too old for it. He’d missed his mother more than he’d ever realized, and it was nice to spend time with his dad without having to lie every five seconds about what he was doing or what was going on in their hometown. Claudia followed him upstairs after about ten minutes, knocking lightly on his door. She settled on the edge of his bed when he called for her to come in.

“I know that things were very different for you, in your time,” she started softly. “I can’t begin to imagine all of the things you’ve been through, even though you’ve told us about most of it. I’m under no illusion that you’ve told us everything, and I’d never ask you to. You can come to me if you’re ever ready to talk about it, or you can keep it to yourself. It’s entirely your choice, Mieczyslaw. But I want you to know that I’m here for you. I’m never going to leave you, not like… not like you experienced before. You saved me.”

“I… I know that,” he told her, just as softly. He couldn’t help the tears in his eyes. “I know that you’re here, and that you’re not going anywhere. But I’m not the one who saved you; that was Talia.”

“We didn’t even know that I was sick,” his mother pointed out gently. “Not until you asked Talia to offer me the bite. _You_ saved me, even Talia would agree on that.”

“I couldn’t lose you,” he told her, wiping at his eyes. She reached out and gently wiped the one tear he’d missed from his cheek. 

“Now you never have to,” she reminded him. “And that means that we will have many celebrations together in the future. Many more birthday parties to celebrate, and many holiday parties that you’ll have to suffer through with our pack. _Our_ pack. I still can’t believe that our family grew so big almost overnight. Do you see what you’ve done, Stiles? How much you’ve given to so many people? You’re saving lives left and right, and you’ve gone out of your way to save an _entire_ family out of the goodness of your heart, for no gain of your own.”

“That’s not true. I have a lot to gain from this,” he argued quickly. “Derek will get to keep his family, and I don’t have to lose my friends or family. I get to keep everyone I love close to me, and not have to go through watching them turn away from me one by one.”

“I’m so sorry that you had to go through that,” she said softly, holding out her arms. Stiles found himself crawling close to hug her tightly, unable to hold himself back. Before he knew it, he was crying softly into her shoulder. He must have fallen asleep like that. The last thing that he remembered was his mother pressing a gentle kiss to his forehead and quietly singing a polish song that he never thought he’d hear again.

_ Peter was running down the street, something close on his tail. He was winded, which meant that he’d been running for a long while. He turned onto a familiar street, skidding in his haste to get away. He caught his balance quickly and propelled himself forward. The Stilinski house was straight ahead, and he could already see the runes that Stiles had carved under his own window. Peter could only hope that the magic remained even though Stiles was long gone. _

_ He cursed under his breath when he found the door locked. Of course the sheriff wouldn’t leave it open, even though he was also long gone. Without hesitation, Peter crushed the knob in his hand and shoved the door open. He wouldn’t need it to close again, as long as the runes held. Whatever had been chasing him wouldn’t be able to enter the house if they had malicious intent. Still, Peter knew better than to trust magic.  _

_ He hurried up the stairs and into Stiles’ bedroom. The closet door was cracked open, and Peter shoved it open fully to get to the box stashed in the very back. Stiles was meticulous with his weapon supply. Knives made of iron with protection runes carved into the handle were assorted by size and magical property. Underneath that tray was a row of handguns and boxes of wolfsbane bullets. Jars of herbs and a book of runes made up the bottom of the box- not that Peter would be able to use those. No, his best bet was the biggest, sharpest knife in the box. He could hear the creature clawing up the side of the house to the window, and he said a silent prayer that the magic would hold. _

_ The creature was massive. He’d known that when he started running. He didn’t know what it was, really, but it hardly mattered. Nothing could survive without a head; of that he was completely certain. As long as he could defend himself, he’d be fine. And the Stilinski house was built to hold off much more powerful enemies than… whatever this was. As the assault on the window began, Peter settled back to wait.  _

_ “Stiles, what have you  _ done _?” Peter muttered. “People disappearing, buildings demolished, and now… this. Whatever you’re going to do, you might want to do it soon. There won’t be anything left for you to come back to if you keep it up.”_


	20. Chapter Twenty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laura and Stiles have some bonding time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to take a moment to say that Laura and Stiles being besties gives me life. That is all.

“I have a boyfriend,” Laura announced as Stiles climbed into the Camaro after school on the day before his birthday. “I know that Cora already complained to you about him, but I wanted to officially tell you myself. You guys will all be meeting him tomorrow at your party, after all.”

“Uh- congratulations?” Stiles replied, tossing his bag into the backseat. She was grinning at him in excitement, but he wasn’t really sure what she wanted him to say. “Graham, right? I hope he’s treating you right. Derek won’t get a chance to tear him apart before I do if he’s not.”

“You’re human,” she pointed out, amused.

“I’m magic,” he countered, finally giving her a smile. “Magic trumps werewolf any day.”

“Liar,” Laura huffed, clearly trying not to laugh. “Werewolf beats magic any day. But Graham is human, so I guess you’d beat him. I wish I could say I didn’t realize you were so protective, but you literally came back to save my life, so…”

“Exactly. I came back to save you, not watch some asshole hurt you,” Stiles agreed. “So he’s treating you well?”

“I feel like I should yell at you for your language, but then I remember that you’re technically older than I am,” Laura laughed. “Yes, he’s treating me well. I think he’s the one, Stiles. My mate.”

“How can you tell? Nobody has ever explained that to me,” Stiles asked, giving her his full attention. She considered her answer for a while before speaking.

“Mom would tell you that scent plays a big part of finding your soulmate, but that wasn’t the case for me. She smelled dad and just… knew. It was different for me with Graham. It’s just a feeling that I have. Like I was never really happy until I met him. And sure, he smells better to me than any other guy ever has, but that’s not a big thing to me. It’s so hard to put into words,” she told him.

“I think I know what you mean,” he replied, smiling softly. “I’ve felt like that before. I guess I just didn’t realize that might be what it was.”

“I don’t think humans feel the same way wolves do,” Laura pointed out gently. 

“Does Graham feel what you feel?” Stiles countered, raising his eyebrows. Laura gave him a calculating look, but she nodded after a few seconds. “I rest my case.”

“It was Derek, wasn’t it?” Laura pressed, pulling away from the school. She didn’t wait for him to answer before continuing. “He won’t say it, but I think he knows. You guys haven’t done any of the things to trigger it yet, since you’re so young. Too young for the mate bond to really kick in just yet. But I can tell you that Derek hasn’t even considered dating since you came around. And that’s a big deal for us.”

“I know about Paige,” he blurted out, unable to contain it any longer. “I always thought that Paige was his mate.”

“He really liked Paige,” Laura agreed sadly. “It’s been a couple of years now, and he’s had a fling or two since then. He hasn’t had anything since you showed up, though. I just thought that you should know that before you go on with the rest of your life. Or… before you go back to your time.”

“Peter didn’t tell everyone? I won’t be going back to my time. You’re all stuck with me as I am now,” he informed her gently. “I already talked with my parents about it, after I made the decision. As tempting as it would be to go back to being an adult, I don’t think I’d fit in there anymore. So much has changed. Nothing will ever be the same again, and we haven’t even beaten the Argents yet.”

“But you think we will?” Laura asked, her gaze focused intently on the road. She was gripping the steering wheel so tightly that Stiles worried it would break.

“I know we will,” he assured her. “We’re more prepared for them than we really need to be. That house is warded to hell and back, and so are all of you. I don’t think they could harm a hair on any of your heads, no matter what they come at us with.”

“But you have to redo the wards every few days,” she reminded him. “Won’t you eventually run out of what you need? Magic or energy, or… whatever?”

“No. It’s spaced out enough that I gain all of my energy back before I need to do it again. If they attack the same day that I do it, I’ll be useless in the fight. But even if that happens, you’ll all be as safe as it’s possible to be. It’ll be like I wrapped you all in bubble wrap and put foam on all the sharp edges in the room. Nothing will be able to hurt you.”

“Not even a sword?” Laura pressed, but Stiles could see that her grip had loosened. In truth, he didn’t know the answer to her question. If he was right, no herb or fire would be able to touch or harm them at all. But physical weapons were a different story.

“I don’t know,” he said after a few seconds. “Physical objects are harder to protect from. If they come at you with a sword or a bullet, I’d still dodge. Don’t be reckless just because you think you’re invincible. There’s no such thing as true invincibility. But if you get hit by a stray bullet, you won’t have to worry about any herbs it might contain. Wolfsbane won’t hurt you, and neither will mistletoe or mountain ash. And any mountain ash brought onto the property won’t do what it’s supposed to. You won’t be trapped. It won’t be possible.”

Laura was relaxed again, a calm smile on her face. “We can dodge pretty well. Peter trained us in physical combat when we were younger than you.”

“I know,” Stiles confided. “Derek would tell me little things about your family when he was in a good mood. There are some things that I know, and some that I never would have guessed.”

“I’m not supposed to talk about it with anyone outside of the people who were in the meeting with mom, but I think you’d like to know that we do have a plan in place for when they attack,” Laura told him conversationally. “I can tell you about it over ice cream, if you want?”

He looked over at her in surprise, studying her innocent expression for a second before responding. She was avoiding the house for some reason. Still, ice cream sounded good, and he didn’t really get to spend much time with Laura in general. She and Natalie were the two Hales he knew the least about.

“Yeah, alright. But you’re buying,” he agreed. She grinned over at him, turning away from the preserve towards town without hesitation. His suspicion grew, but he pushed it back. She didn’t speak again until they were seated in a booth away from everyone else.

“When you talked with… _him_ the other day, and we told Mom all about it, it got her thinking. If other people are willing to help us, there’s no reason to endanger the kids. Cora, Fay, and Natalie will be leaving to stay with one of our aunts up in Oregon for a few weeks, until the danger is gone. Actually, Dad is going to drive them up after your party tomorrow night. She’s also going to speak with all of the parents and make sure _your_ pack isn’t around our house for a little while, too. Erica will be getting her… gift, after this is all over,” she told him softly.

“And what about me?” Stiles asked, frowning. “You all treat me like I’m a child, just like the others. Am I going to be exiled, too? What about the runes? I just told you they need to be done every few days!”

“Shh, Stiles, calm down. This is why Mom didn’t want to tell you yet. You’ll still be allowed at the house to do all the rune things. Derek is supposed to be hanging out with you at your house more, though. The plan was to have your friends meet up at your house instead of ours,” she reassured him. “We’re not pushing you away, I promise. We just want everyone to be safe. And it sounds like you’ve fought enough battles for one lifetime, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, but this is a different lifetime,” Stiles pointed out. “The one I was living doesn’t exist anymore. I can fight with you guys. I was trained in combat by Derek and Peter, too. That didn’t go away just because I’m suddenly younger. All of the knowledge is still inside of me. I get that I look like a child, but I’m _not.”_

“You are,” she told him calmly. “I’ve heard the adults talking about it, and they all agree. Mentally, you’re what, twenty? But that’s just mentally. You’re in the body of a twelve-year-old, Stiles. You have the same limitations as a child. And Deaton thinks that the magic you’ve been accessing is an echo of what you had in your other life. He doesn’t think that level of magic will be available for you for much longer. The more time you spend here, the less of your reality is left. He and Peter think that your old reality is collapsing, to be replaced by what you’re making here. The things that you’ve known, the things that you could do… they’re about to be gone.”

“What do you mean, gone?” Stiles could feel the panic building. Laura reached out to grab his hands, offering him something better to focus on in the hopes of preventing a panic attack before it began. “I left people behind there… I left my _pack_ behind there. Some of them were still alive!”

“And they’re _all_ alive in this reality. The more you change, the less of that reality is left. Scott was a werewolf, right? But you’ve gone out of your way to prevent that here. Deaton is almost sure that your Scott no longer exists. And that’s just an example! Your Jackson turned into an evil lizard before he was a wolf, but in this reality he’s been accepted and told the truth. He probably doesn’t exist in your reality anymore, either. Lydia, too. Everything that you’ve done differently, every change that you’ve made, has improved the lives around you. Can you imagine the new future you’re creating? The new reality you’ve accomplished?”

“I… I don’t know,” Stiles still felt numb, unable to accept the fact that everyone he cared about from his own time- his own reality, apparently- could be gone now because of his decisions. But Laura was right. They were all happier here. They were all where they should have been to begin with. 

“I shouldn’t have said anything, and I’m sorry for that. But I think you should be proud of what you’ve done. This is what you were trying to do, right? Give everyone a better life? A better chance at survival?” she pressed gently.

“Well… yes…” he agreed, slowly beginning to calm down. She was right, after all. Logically, he knew that. But he would still be mourning the people he’d known and loved for a while, before he could accept that they were really gone.

“Try to focus on the good, not the bad. Okay?” she finished, smiling gently. She released his hands to take the last bite of her ice cream. “Are you ready to go home?”

“I thought we were going to your place?” Stiles asked, frowning. All he got in return was a smug grin.

“Exactly. Home,” she repeated. He rolled his eyes, following her out of the diner without bothering to give her the satisfaction of a reply.

The drive was quiet. It seemed Laura knew he needed a minute to think about the bomb she’d dropped on him. When they pulled up to the house, she wordlessly took his bag from the backseat before he could grab it, winking at him as she headed up to the door. He rolled his eyes and followed her, a smile tugging at his lips against his will. She was good at cheering him up, and he didn’t want her to know it.

The inside of the house was unnaturally quiet and dark. Laura’s eyebrows were furrowed, and she’d paused in the doorway to wait for him to catch up. She gave him a look that he could read even in the darkness- something wasn’t right here. Together, they made their way towards the sitting area that the pack usually gathered in, both of them tensed and ready for anything. Stiles pulled his ever-present sharpie out of his pocket, ready to draw a defensive rune at the drop of a hat. The sitting room was darker than the rest of the house, and Laura gestured silently for him to flip on the light. Her eyes were glowing, so he was sure she’d have warned him if there was any danger. Still, it was with caution that he flipped the switch and flooded the room with light.

He had less than thirty seconds to take in the sight of the _entire Hale pack_ gathered in the room before they were all shouting at once.

**_ “Surprise!” _ **


	21. Chapter Twenty-One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A very happy birthday party.

“Were you surprised?” Laura asked Stiles an hour after the party had started. She dropped onto the couch beside him, balancing a plate with two slices of chocolate cake and two forks carefully. She placed it on her knee, holding out the second fork with a grin. Stiles accepted it with a roll of his eyes.

“Yeah, you got me. I knew you were avoiding the house, but I had no clue that _this_ was why,” he admitted. His reaction to the surprise had gotten more than a few laughs. In his defense, at least he only dropped the sharpie and- well, they’d all promised never to mention the sound he’d made _ever_ again. He could have drawn a rune and fried them all. They were lucky.

“I can be sneaky when I need to be,” Laura winked, digging her fork into the smaller slice of cake. Stiles was impressed that she was being polite about cake, even if it was for his birthday. He’d seen her shove Derek down the basement stairs over a cupcake before.

“Speaking of, I thought we were meeting your boyfriend at my party?” he pointed out, raising his eyebrows at her. She actually blushed, avoiding his eyes before she answered.

“He’ll be here,” she admitted. “He has to be a little late for his job. He’s interning with Deaton at the vet’s office. Technically, I’m pretty sure Mom has met him already. She just didn’t know his significance to me.”

“Sneaky,” Stiles laughed, taking his first bite of cake. It was perfect- his favorite. He could see his friends (his _pack_ ) talking and laughing across the room, and it warmed his heart. Derek, Cora, and Natalie were all gathered around the cake, arguing playfully over who had the biggest slice. He hadn’t seen Derek smile like that in… ever. His mom and dad were in the corner, talking quietly and glancing at him every few minutes. He’d be worried, except they were smiling and obviously happy. 

When Laura jumped up to answer the door before any knock could be heard, Talia took her spot. They sat in peaceful silence for a few minutes, watching the room together. Peter and Faye were deep in conversation with Lydia and Jackson, and Stiles could only imagine the magical theories they were talking about. Lydia was still pushing to learn as much about magic as she possibly could. Even Danny seemed to be enjoying himself where he’d joined Isaac, Erica, and Boyd. Laura was introducing the boy who must have been Graham to her father and siblings.

“I don’t think I can ever thank you enough,” Talia told him softly after several minutes of watching the room. “You gave this to us. You made this possible.”

“I did what any decent human being would have done, that’s all,” Stiles replied, sitting back and watching his family enjoying themselves.

“You’ll say that for the rest of your life, I know, but it isn’t true. When given a choice between their own safety and the chance to save someone long dead, anyone else would choose themselves. You’re special, Stiles,” she replied, looking over at him. “I know you won’t believe me, because that’s just who you are. I won’t keep saying it, because I think it makes you uncomfortable. But thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for going out of your way to protect my family. It’s a debt that I will never be able to repay.”

“You saved my mother. You’re saving my pack. I think that should make us even,” he told her after a few moments of consideration. Talia nodded, seeming to accept that.

“I hear that perhaps you’ll join my family in more ways than one, some day,” she told him conversationally, laughing when he nearly fell off of the couch in surprise. Thankfully, nobody else seemed to be paying them any attention. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist. I hope you know that when the time comes- if it does- I will be proud to call you my son.”

“That’s- Talia, I just turned _twelve_!” he protested. He knew his face had to be bright red- he could feel the heat on his cheeks.

“You won’t be twelve forever,” she reminded him. “And as you’re fond of reminding us, you are much older than that in mentality.”

“And you’re all fond of reminding me that it doesn’t matter anymore,” he grumbled. “You know, like when you made the plan to keep me away from the fight. Like a _child_.”

“You’ve done everything you possibly can to protect us, Stiles,” she reminded him. She wasn’t using her alpha voice, but she was still authoritative. “I see no need to put you in danger when you don’t need to be. The Argents know that you’re human. You won’t be in danger if you aren’t here when they attack. It’s not forever. We all agreed that you’ve seen far too much war in your lifetime. And before you say a word, it _is_ your lifetime, even if you’ve gone backwards. You didn’t die. You simply relocated.”

“That makes it sound way nicer than it was. I relocated,” he laughed softly, calming down. “But I can help. Maybe I’m a child here, that’s fine. Honestly, I like that I have the chance to _be_ a child now. I had to grow up too early when my mom died. That doesn’t change the fact that I have experience in this kind of thing. I lost a lot of friends and family, but along the way, I learned how to protect them. I learned how to protect myself. And on the subject of the Argents, I’m a bit of an expert. I could literally write a book about their fighting style and tactics. I had inside sources.”

“Maybe someday you’ll write that book,” Talia replied, smiling. “Until then, you don’t need to be in a battle. If you think of things that could help us, by all means, we’d love to hear them. But a phone works perfectly well for communication.”

“And my parents agreed, I’m sure,” Stiles huffed. He forced himself to calm down, especially when he noticed Laura and Graham making their way towards the pair on the couch. “I’m not done arguing my case, but… it’s a party. I’m letting it go for now.”

“Thank you,” Talia said simply. Then they both turned their attention to the approaching pair. If Laura was nervous, she was hiding it well. Without hearing her heartbeat, Stiles really couldn’t tell what she was feeling. Graham, on the other hand, was practically sweating with nerves. Stiles had seen him around town, in his own time. He had been a deputy for a while, until he’d taken a bullet to the leg in a robbery gone wrong. Stiles wasn’t really sure what he’d gone on to do after that, and maybe now he’d never have to find out.

“Mom, Stiles, this is my boyfriend, Graham,” Laura announced formally, smiling widely. She grabbed Graham’s hand as they awaited the alpha’s reaction. Stiles glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and could immediately tell that she was fighting a proud smile. She could clearly tell just what Graham was to Laura.

“It’s lovely to meet you, Graham,” she replied, her tone just as formal as Laura’s had been. She rose from the couch gracefully and offered her hand. “I’m sure Laura has told you much about our family.”

“Yes, all good things,” Graham replied carefully, shaking her hand. Talia finally allowed herself to smile as he accepted her hand. She used the leverage to pull him into a hug.

“Welcome to the family,” she told him softly. “Thank you for making my daughter happy.”

“Mom,” Laura groaned. “Please stop being weird.”

Talia released Graham and stepped back, a soft laugh escaping. Stiles was trying his hardest not to laugh behind them. “It’s my job as your mother to be as embarrassing as I possibly can be. And it’s my job as your alpha to accept your chosen mate into the pack. And now I have done both. Tomorrow, we’ll have the formal discussion and I’ll make the offer officially.”

“Thank you,” Laura told her, her eyes shining. She took Graham’s hand again and pulled him back towards Derek and Cora. Talia settled back onto the couch beside Stiles, still chuckling softly.

“Is that what I have to look forward to?” Stiles asked, grinning. Talia turned her attention to him, her smile turning mischievous. 

“Oh no, yours will be _much_ worse. You’re already pack, so you won’t have to deal as much with the alpha aspect. You just get the mother,” she informed him. Suddenly her grin looked more like bared teeth, and Stiles inched away from her. 

“I’ll, uh… I’ll keep that in mind,” he replied, much to her obvious amusement.

Before she could say anything else, however, Stiles felt a pang in his gut that could only mean one thing. He nearly fell off of the couch in his haste to get up and make it to the window. Sure enough, he could see lights shining and moving out in the forest. It seemed there would be no avoiding this fight, after all. It was too late for that.

The Argents were here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case anyone is trying to keep track, Stiles' birthday is April 8th. The Hale fire happened in canon in late 2004 or early 2005. I've chosen to make it April of 2005.
> 
> (Technically, I've aged Stiles one extra year. He would have been turning 11 in 2005. I also de-aged Derek by a year or two. He should be 17 in 2005, but for this story's purposes he's only 15/16. Canonically, Stiles was born in 1994 and Derek was born in 1988. I did A LOT of research to get as close to canon as I could for this and still make it work.)


	22. Chapter Twenty-Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The battle of the Hales and the Argents.
> 
> **Warning for depictions of violence!**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a warning, I have never written ANYTHING like this chapter before in my life. I am SO SORRY.
> 
> In my defense, these characters have a mind of their own. This chapter was a rollercoaster. I was just as surprised as you guys will be.

“Get the children upstairs!” Talia commanded. Her eyes had been red from the moment Stiles had scrambled off of the couch, and he was certain that wouldn’t change. “Stiles, go with them and reinforce their runes if you can. Everyone else, with me!”

There was a rush as everyone struggled to obey the alpha. Stiles watched as the ‘children’ were effectively gathered and shuffled towards the stairs. His father was with them, his gun plain on his belt now and fire in his eyes. They would be safe with him. Laura caught his gaze as he looked around the room and nodded, a fierce smile on her face. There was no doubt in his mind that she would be okay in this. She wasn’t a child. She was a warrior just as powerful as her mother.

“Stiles, sweetie, please go with them,” his mother told him, pulling him into a hug. “You’ll be safe with your father and your friends. This isn’t your fight.”

“It _is_ ,” he insisted. “This is exactly what I came back for.”

“And you’ve done what you needed to do. Now let us handle the rest,” Jonathon told him, placing a hand on his shoulder. Stiles hadn’t even noticed him approaching.

“But what if they have something we didn’t expect? You _need_ me,” Stiles argued, crossing his arms angrily. “Don’t shut me out of this.”

“We’re not shutting you out of anything. If it looks like we’re losing our advantage, Laura and Derek have orders to collect you and bring you into the fray. You’re a secret weapon, of sorts. Right now, your job is to make sure our children are safe. Touch up their runes and keep them calm for us. I can feel their anxiety from here,” Peter chimed in, appearing over Claudia’s shoulder. “And we’re wasting time by arguing. Every minute that we’re in here, they’re getting closer to putting us in danger. Go upstairs. You can hate us all later.”

He was right, and Stiles hated him for it. Every second that he argued, he was putting the Hales and his friends in danger. He was keeping them from protecting themselves, like a… like a child. He turned his full attention to Peter, who regarded him with the same seriousness. “If you have the chance to kill her, do it. Don’t hesitate because she _won’t_ hesitate to kill any of you. I know I said before that we can’t kill them, but that’s over now. If you have the shot, take it.”

“I promise,” Peter nodded, his eyes narrowed. Stiles believed him. He’d seen that look on Peter before, and it had ended exactly the same way Stiles had just commanded. With one last angry look, he turned and stomped up the stairs. He’d wait until they all made it outside, and then he’d follow. His father would be too distracted with everyone upstairs to keep track of him for long. If nothing else, he could easily draw a deception rune and make one of the others take on his appearance for a short time. Danny, probably, since he was the closest to his size.

They had all gathered in the library when Stiles caught up to them. Scott was talking quietly with Isaac, keeping him calm and distracted. Erica and Boyd were sitting close together at one of the window seats, but they weren’t looking outside. They were both pale and holding hands silently. Cora and Natalie were hugging in the middle of the room, and Natalie was crying. Faye was talking quietly with his father, and they both glanced over at him when he entered the room. Without a word, he went over to join Lydia, Jackson, and Danny.

“I need to be out there,” he told them softly, frowning down at the table they’d gathered around. He couldn’t stand to see their sympathetic looks right now.

“We know,” Jackson replied, surprising him. “From everything you’ve told us, it’s your right to be a part of this.”

“They think they’re keeping me safe,” Stiles told them, crossing his arms. He finally looked up, and he wasn’t disappointed with what he saw. Jackson seemed angry on his behalf, which was a nice change. Danny kept glancing nervously between Stiles and the closest window, like he thought Stiles was about to jump out of it. Which actually…

“You need a distraction,” Lydia chimed in. She was studying him with the same calculating expression _his_ Lydia used to give him. It was so unexpected that it took him a few seconds to realize what she’d said. “Something to keep everyone in the room occupied while you sneak out. You need… Erica.”

“Erica?” Stiles echoed, confused. He jumped in surprise when Erica’s hand landed on his arm. He turned to stare at her with wide eyes, hoping she’d offer an explanation.

“I’m doing this for you, okay? Not because I think you should be out there risking your life, but because you already _have_ risked your life and I think you should have control over what you do now,” she told him seriously.

“You’re doing _what_?” he asked her, desperate to understand. She gave him a sad smile and shook her head.

“Just be careful, Batman. Don’t die on us,” she replied. Then she leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his cheek, kindly ignoring his flinch. She turned on her heel and made her way towards Cora and Natalie without another word.

Halfway towards her goal, she froze in place. A panicked sound slipped out of her as she fell to the floor, shaking violently. Stiles watched in horror as she began to convulse on the ground, having a very real seizure right in the middle of the room. His father gave a shout and hurried forward, grabbing onto her arms to try to keep her steady. Just as Stiles was about to rush forward to help, Lydia grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the door. She gave him a harsh shove and a very pointed look, and he didn’t need any other hints. _This_ was his distraction. He heard Lydia instructing his father to put Erica on her side as he practically ran through the door.

He ran into Chris Argent on the stairs, and it surprised him so badly that he almost fell down them. Chris reached out to steady, catching the marker that he dropped in the process. Stiles stared at him suspiciously, and the man actually had the audacity to smile at him.

“I told you I wasn’t going to allow any children to be hurt,” he said softly. “The job I was given was to take care of any wolves still inside of the house. From this position, I can make sure nothing happens to them. Don’t you have somewhere to be?”

Stiles studied him for a few more seconds before nodding, accepting his answer as truth. He just knew that Chris Argent could be trusted no matter what reality he was in. “Keep my family safe.”

“I will. You have my word,” Chris assured him. With one last nod, Stiles hurried down the stairs and out the door.

Outside, the fighting hadn’t quite begun. Talia was standing at the front of her pack, silently regarding Gerard Argent as he prepared his hunters for the battle. He was surprised that they were being so formal about an illegal battle to the death between hunters and wolves.

“For generations, the Hale pack has been terrorizing this peaceful town. It’s time to put a stop to it once and for all. Tonight, all of the wolves die,” Gerard announced, raising his sword into the air. Stiles rolled his eyes, staying to the back of the crowd so that nobody could catch his scent and shove him inside before the fighting started. “Surrender, Talia Hale, and your pack will have a painless death.”

“We will never surrender to the likes of you. We have kept the peace in Beacon Hills for as long as you say we’ve spread terror. You are breaking your code by being here, threatening my pack for no reason at all. Leave here, now, and we will give you the mercy you don’t deserve,” Talia shot back. Gerard laughed, his eyes gleaming with hatred. Suddenly, Stiles knew exactly what was going to happen.

Just as Gerard stepped forward without warning, his sword about to slice through the air, Stiles rushed to Talia’s side. He drew a special rune on his hand and activated it as quickly as he possibly could. A giant gust of air flew from his outstretched hand, sending Gerard flying backwards and away from the Hale pack. He knocked against two of his own men, sending all three sprawling to the ground. Talia stared down at Stiles in shock, thankfully still in one piece. Before she could scold him (or thank him), the battle had begun.

Stiles was shoved to the back of the pack again, Laura on one side and Derek on the other. The hunters outnumbered them by quite a bit, but none of the wolves seemed worried. Stiles had just redone the runes the day before, which meant that _he_ was weaker than usual, but the Hales were stronger than ever. Three hunters approached the Hale siblings, and Stiles immediately started drawing a fire rune to activate on his arm, ready to throw as much fire as it took to get them to back away. Just as he was finishing, Derek yanked him out of the path of a stray bullet.

“Can you _try_ to stay alive?” he snapped angrily, slashing at the hunter who had fired the gun. He sounded so much like Stiles’ Derek that he forgot where he was for a moment.

“What, and deprive you of being a hero? I think not,” he shot back, grinning as he activated the rune. Fire crawled up and down his arm, giving him endless flaming ammunition to throw at his enemies.

“Stiles, focus,” Laura reminded him, knocking out the second hunter. She turned to take out the third one, but Stiles was already taking care of him. One ball of fire to the chest, and the third hunter was retreating back into the woods to take care of his burns. Laura patted his non-flaming shoulder with a grin. “That’s better.”

“Has anyone seen Kate since this started?” Stiles asked, glancing around the yard in apprehension. Derek shook his head, and he could see Laura tensing up.

“She was on the other side of the house,” Laura said softly. “Dad and Uncle Peter went to take care of her and her group, but I don’t know how it went.”

“I’m going to check on them,” Stiles told the siblings, holding up his hands when they both started to protest. “Kate is _dangerous_ , okay? And I think by now I’ve proven that I can defend myself.”

“Just be careful,” Laura nodded, the worried look never leaving her face. Derek looked like he was going to argue further, but more hunters were surrounding them and there wasn’t time to argue any longer. With one last look his way, Stiles turned and ran as fast as he could around the house.

What he found was _not_ what he was hoping for. Kate and Peter were nowhere to be seen, but Jonathon was on the ground. Stiles ran forward to check on him and was relieved to see that the man was breathing. He’d heal, whatever had happened to him. As he was straightening up, he felt his proximity rune go off directly in front of him.

“Look at this, I didn’t even have to _try_ to get you on your own,” Lionel Hale smirked, stepping into the house’s clearing. “This should be easy, then. Give up now and I’ll make your death painless.”

“We’ve already had that offer, thanks. We turned it down,” Stiles informed him warily.

“That was Argent’s promise to the pack. This is my promise to you. But between you and me, I was really hoping you’d turn me down. You see,” Lionel started, stalking forward slowly. His eyes were glowing blue, and Stiles shivered at the pure hatred written all over his face. “I was lying.”

“Of course you were,” Stiles sighed, dropping into a defensive stance. He activated the fire rune one more time, feeling the heat traveling along his arm without burning him. “You villains are always the same.”

“You think _I’m_ the villain? You cost me my family! My pack!” Lionel roared, lunging forward in anger. His claws were extended, but it was clear he was going for Stiles’ throat with his teeth. Stiles stepped to the side, throwing as much fire as he could at the omega. Lionel’s claws caught his flaming arm, tearing easily through the flesh and making Stiles cry out in pain. The fire sputtered, then died. The rune had been destroyed.

“Boy, you know nothing of pain or loss. Allow me to teach you,” Lionel spat. Instead of lunging at Stiles, he glared down at Jonathon. Jonathon, who was sprawled unconscious and helpless on the ground. Stiles lunged forward to try to defend him, but it was too late. Lionel raised his foot and brought it down as hard as he could on Jonathon’s neck. Stiles would have heard the snap of the bone from across the preserve.

“NO!” he shouted, landing on the ground next to Jonathon helplessly. There was nothing he could do. He couldn’t cure death.

“By now, the rest of them should be suffering a similar fate. Your precious family will be next. I heard what that traitor said to you. Kate will take care of him, and then she’ll take care of the rest of the imbeciles hiding inside of that house like the cowards they are,” Lionel informed him, that infuriating smirk back on his face.

Stiles didn’t know what was happening to the rest of his family. All he knew was that he’d failed at least one member. And if he’d failed one, he’d failed them all. He could feel something building inside of him, but something was telling him that it wasn’t quite time yet. It was a gut feeling that he knew better than to question.

“We’re stronger than you think we are,” Stiles said softly, glaring up at Lionel angrily. “We’re ready for whatever the Argents had planned. The Hales are the most protected family in the world at this moment. You _can’t_ win.”

“Protected, are you?” Lionel snorted. “Jonathon, here, was certainly easy enough to take care of. Kate barely knocked him in the head and he went down. His neck was certainly easy enough to break. Your ‘protection’ hasn’t done anything, boy. They’re just as weak as they’ve been since Talia took control.”

“They _are_ protected,” Stiles insisted, his voice rising in anger. Lionel continued to chuckle darkly as he advanced towards Stiles, flicking his claws out again.

“No, boy, they aren’t,” he promised, stopping directly in front of Stiles. Stiles knew what was coming, of course. This was the moment he’d been heading towards since he’d arrived. He’d felt it from that very first day. The feeling building inside of him reached its peak as Lionel pulled back his arm to strike. Just when Stiles was certain that he was going to die, something hit Lionel _hard_ in the side, knocking him to the ground several feet away.

“You are my father, and I love you, but if you do not surrender I will not grant you mercy,” Talia growled, pinning Lionel to the ground by his throat. Her claws dug sharply into his neck, drawing blood even as Stiles watched. “The Argents are gone. Many died, and the rest have retreated. My pack remains strong, with no losses. You have no chance of success against us. _Surrender_.”

“No losses?” Lionel coughed out a laugh, and Stiles couldn’t look away from Jonathon’s body. “My dear, you’ve suffered the greatest loss of all. Kill me. I’ve already won.”

There was a roaring in Stiles’ ears that he couldn’t seem to get rid of. It was growing louder by the moment, deafening before long. The power inside of him was growing more and more unstable by the second, and Stiles knew that he wouldn’t be able to contain it for much longer. No matter what he tried to focus on, he couldn’t tear his eyes away from Jonathon Hale, lying broken on the ground. It wasn’t meant to be like this.

_“Deaton thinks that the magic you’ve been accessing is an echo of what you had in your other life. He doesn’t think that level of magic will be available for you for much longer. The more time you spend here, the less of your reality is left. He and Peter think that your old reality is collapsing, to be replaced by what you’re making here. The things that you’ve known, the things that you could do… they’re about to be gone.”_

All of that remaining power, that reality’s strength… it had to go somewhere. Stiles could feel it building up inside of him, strong enough that it was going to explode. Stiles _couldn’t contain it_. He could feel his mother crouching down beside him. He felt the exact moment that Talia snapped her own father’s neck; an unavoidable casualty to end this horrible war. He could feel the Hale pack swarming into the backyard to see the end of the battle. He could hear Derek and Laura’s choked sobbing as they realized their father was no longer with them. It was building up, pounding inside of him, straining to break free.

“Stiles?” his mother asked, her voice weak with worry. He had a distant realization that his skin was glowing as he felt some of that power begin to leak out of him. He just had the presence of mind to think to himself that the Hales didn’t deserve to lose _any_ members of their pack…

_And everything went dark._


	23. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The end?

_The creature outside of the window had nearly managed to break inside. The runes were failing, Peter could feel it in the very air of the room. The magic had almost completely faded. He wasn’t going to make it out of this alive._

_Perhaps if he could have talked to Deaton one last time, he would have understood what was happening. As it was, all he knew was that the magic Stiles had used to keep everyone safe was disappearing. The people Stiles had loved were all gone, one by one. Peter was all that was left, and he was about to be gone as well. All seemed hopeless._

_He brandished his knife, not knowing if the runes on it would work or if it was simply sharp metal now. The window shattered, giving the vicious creature the entrance it had been looking for. Just as it slithered its way into the room to attack… it faded into nothing. Peter nearly dropped his knife in surprise. Could it be invisible now? Waiting to strike when he dropped his guard? But that wasn’t right._

_The room around him was starting to look hazy, swimming in and out of focus. Peter couldn’t tell if it was because he was losing his sight, or if the room was really disappearing around him. Panic filled him, leaving him defenseless. This was it. This was the end. He dropped his knife and closed his eyes in acceptance as he world around him faded from existence._

_“Good luck, Stiles,” he whispered as he ceased to exist._

Stiles sat bolt upright in his bed, gasping for breath. He’d had the _worst_ nightmare about the Argents attacking during his birthday party and Lionel Hale managing to kill Talia’s husband. But that would be crazy…

“You’re awake!” his mother sighed in the doorway, relief obvious in her voice. “How are you feeling, Mieczyslaw?”

“I’m… I’m fine. What happened?” he asked, feeling his own forehead with a frown. Had he been sick? He didn’t _feel_ sick.

“What do you remember?” she asked, sitting carefully on the edge of the bed beside him.

“I… I don’t know,” Stiles admitted. “It’s all really fuzzy. Did they really attack?”

“Yes,” Claudia told him simply. She didn’t offer any more information, giving him time to figure it out for himself. He appreciated that.

“Erica had a seizure,” he recalled suddenly, sitting up straighter. “I don’t remember seeing her, after. Did she-“

“Erica is fine. Talia gave her the bite yesterday,” she replied quickly. Stiles frowned again, his concern growing.

“How long have I been unconscious?” Stiles asked softly, afraid to hear the answer. His mother pulled him into a hug and let him hold onto her for a while before she gave him an answer.

“Four days,” she informed him gently. “You used up too much energy. Alan had to perform a very… interesting ritual, to make sure you’d be okay. He said something about the collapse of your reality giving you an unnatural amount of power that you were never supposed to have. What you did… I’ve never seen anything like it before, Stiles. I’m so proud.”

“What did I do?” Stiles whispered, closing his eyes. He couldn’t remember anything about using a tremendous amount of power. He _did_ remember Lionel’s attack, now. He remembered Jonathon Hale’s death, and it made him shudder. “The Hales… how are they taking it?”

“They haven’t left their house since the attack,” Claudia sighed. “Talia is spending all of her time nursing her husband back to full health. From what I’ve heard, he hates it.”

“He- I’m sorry, what?” Stiles asked blankly. He could _very clearly_ remember Jonathon Hale dying.

“When we made it to you, you were already on the verge of passing out. You were _glowing,_ Stiles. I’ve never seen anything like it, and I hope that I never do again. When you passed out, the magic moved to Jonathon Hale’s body. Within seconds, he had absorbed it. I only know what Alan has told me, but it sounds to me like that amount of magic and the intent you put into it managed to heal Jonathon just enough to bring him back to life,” she explained. “He wasn’t _fully_ healed, but his neck was no longer broken. He’s been gaining his strength back a little more every day.”

“I _brought him back to life_?” Stiles demanded, his fists clenching. He couldn’t quite bring himself to believe it. “It’s not possible! Deaton _always_ said that wasn’t possible.”

“It wouldn’t normally be,” Alan agreed from the doorway. His arms were crossed, but he was smiling pleasantly. “When the Argents were officially unable to defeat the Hales, it collapsed your entire reality. Unfortunately, there will be no return trip for you. Though from what I hear, you already knew that.”

“How did that make me suddenly able to bring a man back to life?” Stiles demanded. He didn’t ask the question he really wanted the answer to: could he have brought all of the people he’d lost back?

“All of that energy had to go somewhere, and you were the only thing left. It all hit you at once, something that no mortal could handle for very long. Since your focus was on the loss of Jonathon Hale, all of the pent up magic from the collapsed reality went into reviving him. It was a one-time phenomenon that nobody will _ever_ be able to repeat. It seems the Hales owe you a greater debt than they ever could have imagined,” Alan explained patiently.

“I don’t want anything from them,” Stiles replied immediately, completely serious. “I just want them to have the lives they deserve. And if Jonathon is alive, it sounds like they’ll get to have that.”

“Thanks to you,” his mother agreed proudly.

“They will be eager to see you,” Alan informed him with a kind smile. “I have to call them to check in. I’ll let them know that you’re finally awake. I imagine you’ll have a visitor or two in no time.”

“They should stay with their family,” Stiles protested. “I can go see them tomorrow. Tell them that, please.”

“Of course, but I believe I already know what they’ll say,” Alan agreed. He left before Stiles could ask what he meant. It seemed he wasn’t quite done being annoyingly vague. Wonderful.

“You’re their family, too,” his mother said softly, filling in the blank. “They’ll want to see you because they’re worried about you. But if you want to rest today and wait to see them tomorrow, I’ll let them know when they show up.”

“No,” he said quickly. He was already starting to smile. “I’ll see them. I _want_ to see them. And I need to call Scott.”

“He’s in the guest room,” his mother informed him, grinning. “None of us could get him to go home. Not that we tried very hard. Promise me you’ll stay in bed until the Hales get here, alright? I’ll send Scott in when he wakes up. He hasn’t been sleeping very well. You need to rest.”

“I promise,” he assured her. With one last kiss to his forehead, she was gone.

_He had done it_. The battle was _over_. The Argents were dead or gone, he didn’t really care which. The Hales were alive, and there hadn’t been any fire. He hadn’t lost _anyone_. For the first time in his life, Stiles could rest knowing that his entire family was completely safe and alive. With that last thought, he closed his eyes and drifted into a peaceful sleep.

_Chris Argent was standing between the unmarked graves of his father and sister when his phone began to ring. He didn’t have to check the ID to know exactly who it would be. He accepted the call without a word._

_“Is it done?”_

_“Yes,” he said softly. “They’re buried where they won’t be found. It’s over.”_

_“Oh no. This has just begun,” Victoria Argent replied. “We will take Beacon Hills back if it’s the last thing we do.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT'S DONE!! I've been writing this story for almost a year, and I am SO proud of it. I hope that you've enjoyed reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it.
> 
> The sequel will be coming before you know it!! (And yes, it will heavily feature Allison Argent, because I love her.)


End file.
